"Everybody wanted to stop... There were tears in the eyes" - Tadej Pogacar explains mid-race cancellation of Tre Valli Varesine

Weather conditions at Tre Valli Varesine 2024 were far from ideal. Heavy downpours beat down on the riders throughout the day as they attempted to traverse through the puddles and stay upright. Ultimately, with over 100km to go, it was decided conditions were too bad as the riders headed back into their respective team buses.

Anticipation had been high for the battle on the roads of Italy as the likes of Remco Evenepoel, Primoz Roglic and Tadej Pogacar went head to head. After the race's cancellation was confirmed, the latter of those three superstars spoke to the media and explained the choice to end the action prematurely.

"At the neutralised start there were already 7 punctures and a couple of broken wheels. We tried to race, but in the descent on the last lap we did I was in second position behind Alessandro Covi, but we couldn't see where we were going," the Slovenian explains to Cycling Pro Net. "Everybody wanted to stop. It was just a matter of question in which lap someone would crash. Those are the worst crashes when you lose the handlebars. I know a lot of friends from the peloton who had concussions this year. It's something we need to be more careful of in the peloton."

Nevertheless, Pogacar understands things ended far from ideally for the race organisers, who now do not have a potentially mouthwatering battle between some of cycling's biggest names to boast about. "We understand the organisers that they want a race, but in the end the riders made the right decision," Pogacar concludes. "We are sad for the race to not continue, but it's like this. Luckily everybody was reasonable. I could see how heavy it was for the boss of the organisation. There were tears in the eyes. This race means a lot to them, but when you can't race you can't. They understood that immediately. I'm really thankful for that."