"Come and say it to my face" - RCS boss Mauro Vegni comes out fighting after criticism over handling of pre-stage 16 drama at Giro d'Italia

The start of stage 16 at the 2024 Giro d'Italia descended into a shambolic farce as far as the organisation was concerned with a confused and unsure peloton held at a petrol station in the rain as race organisers RCS attempted to hash out a last-minute plan for the day after the bad weather caused chaos.

A number of riders, including Ben O'Connor and Simon Geschke were left furious at the way things were handled by the race organisers, voicing their discontent in interviews and social media in the immediate aftermath. In a pre-stage 17 interview with Eurosport however, RCS CEO, Mauro Vegni came out firing in defence of the race organisers actions.

"If I had to do again what I did yesterday, I would take all 170 riders, put them at the start and hold a meeting to explain what we do. Because I understood that the communication of what we had done, since the day before, had not been communicated to some," Vegni explained. "The words of some of them, even harsh ones, are totally false. We had already decided the day before to follow plan C, given that conditions would probably get worse. Then go to Prato allo Stelvio and make a new start there. But I understood that this thing didn't reach the riders."

“To avoid, as happened other times, someone starting to start at the moment of departure, we said 'on the day of rest we make the necessary decisions'. We met, there was the adverse weather commission and all those entitled to give their opinion were present," Vegni continues. "The points that we needed to consider were unanimously decided. Yesterday, we met again and given the weather we decided that we would leave from Prato allo Stelvio."

If Vegni had his way, the riders would have still showcased themselves around the start town in Livigno, despite the horrific snow, sleet and rain that was battering the riders with immense cold. "We asked for just one thing, given that for the citizens who were present it wasn't nice to leave like this: let's do the 4-5 km that there are to go to the tunnel, where the riders will then they would have changed," he explains. "Also, everyone agrees there. The mayor of Livigno and the prefect were present, the representatives of the riders said yes."

This ultimately did not happen as the riders stood their ground and refused to ride in such conditions, much to the chagrin of Vegni. "At that point, I went to the car, I had the mayor in front of me and no one showed up when I left," he concludes, slamming those who have since claimed no such agreement ever existed between riders and race organisers. "These are the facts. If anyone has something to prove me wrong, come and say it to my face."