"Giro d'Italia organization and UCI on fire today with wise decision making. Not" - Simon Geschke lays heavy criticism as stage 16 finally gets underway

The scenes at the start of stage 16 at the 2024 Giro d'Italia were controversial, confusing and ultimately rather shambolic. With RCS seemingly intent on laying down a marker and forcing riders to ride in the horrendous weather conditions and the peloton subsequently refusing to do so, the stage is now finally underway.

Despite a resolution finally having been reached, with the Umbrailpass from the cut from the day and riders instead only riding the final 120ish kilometers, riders across the peloton have been left totally unimpressed by the actions and decision-making of race organiser RCS and the cycling's governing body, the UCI.

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Earlier, Ben O'Connor had scythed race organisers with his words. "It's probably one of the worst organized races I think, I'm just being honest," the Australian said in words to Eurosport from the roadside at the Giro d'Italia, as the riders were left waiting in a petrol unsure when, where or even if the stage would begin. "This would never have happened in 99% of other situations. It's a shame, in 2024 and you still have dinosaurs who really don't see the human side of things."

Now, Cofidis' Simon Geschke, who has been wearing the Maglia Azzura of the King of the Mountains over the last few days, despite sitting second in the classification behind Tadej Pogacar, has joined the criticism of the decision-makers at the Giro d'Italia via a post on his official X (Twitter) account. "Giro d'Italia organization and UCI on fire today with wise decision making. Not," laments the German with frustration on his social media.

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Geschke was actually the first to bring the debate between the riders and the CPA with race organiser to light via a series of Tweets over the rest day. "The CPA group is currently exploding. At the moment, teams + UCI are on one side, and the organizer RCS is on the other. 0 degrees and snowfall are forecast for the Umbrail Pass," he explained. "... The RCS (of course) wants to complete the stage as planned. However, the UCI reserves the right to cancel the stage completely if it snows at the top of the Umbrail. The riders would like to start the race after the Umbrail descent and race the rest of the stage normally."

Ultimately, a compromise was reached, but the scenes of the riders waiting in the rain at a petrol station in complete confusion was not a good image for the sport to present in one of the major and most watched races on the yearly calendar.

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Giro d'Italia at war over plans to change stage 16: "Teams + UCI are on one side, the organizer RCS is on the other"

Simon Geschke

@simongeschke

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.@giroditalia organization and @UCI_cycling on fire today with wise decision making. Not.

Team Cofidis

@TeamCOFIDIS

❄️☂️🔵 #GiroDitalia

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