Director of the Challenge Mallorca lashes out again, this time at José Joaquín Rojas: "Thank goodness he was a better rider than director, he is shameless"

Since the suspension of the Trofeo Andratx on Saturday, the tension in the Challenge Mallorca has not stopped growing. Firstly the race director criticized the riders for taking action amidst the unsafe conditions and now, Manuel Hernandez has lashed out again. 

After those initial words, José Joaquín Rojas, Movistar Team's sports director in the Challenge Mallorca, responded and attacked the race director with the following statements to Esports IB3: "What was not seen on the cameras is that in the first 30 km lap we did there were a lot of crashes. The riders themselves saw so much chaos that they wanted to stop," the Spanish ex-pro explained. "They looked for people from the organization in the race, and there was no one. They couldn't get in touch with anyone, and since there were no buses, they decided to stop the race. There was not much alternative. Maybe it could have been neutralized until we got to the coast, but someone from the organization had to have been there to make that decision."

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The response from the director of the Challenge Mallorca came this morning. And, as expected, the words of José Joaquín Rojas did not sit well with him. In fact, he attacked him personally: "I just have to tell José Joaquín that it's a good thing he was a better rider than sports director, because I think he's shameless and a liar," he fired back explosively. "And I say it this clearly, shamelessly and liar. The race cannot start without the organization, it is not possible. Today the organization has decided not to present the teams, it will do a typical old-fashioned signature control. The organization has decided today that it stays quiet," he added.

The Challenge Mallorca has finished this Sunday with the Trofeo Palma. Unfortunately, these last two days tarnish an edition that had started beautifully, with very disputed races.

The winners of each race (except the Andratx Trophy) were as follows:

• Calvia Trophy: Jan Christen - UAE Team Emirates XRG
• Ses Salines Trophy: Marijn van den Berg - EF Education-EasyPost
• Serra de Tramuntana Trophy: Florian Sotkr - Tudor Pro Cycling Team
• Palma Trophy: Iuri Leitao - Caja Rural Seguros RGA

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Drama at Trofeo Palma! Iuri Leitao denies the sprinters with incredible late attack

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