INEOS DS laments downfall of Etoile de Besseges: "We wanted to race here, but apparently that's not possible"

The Etoile de Bessèges controversy is one that took the cycling world by storm this week and within the peloton, there were many displeased voices. Seven teams fully abandoned the race, a very unusual situation - specially as the race continued despite all the adversity. Some of the team DS' who made the decision explain it.

INEOS DS Zak Dempster told journalist Daniel Benson that "there was a mood and the vast majority of riders didn't want to continue. A car came onto the course, just like yesterday, so let's not confuse that with the weather or anything else. We wanted to race here, but apparently that's not possible. There are no guarantees of safety in cycling and the organizers say they only have ten motorcyclists. That's not perfect, but now we're risking the safety of the riders."

Race owner Claudine Fangille defended the race staff and argued that if the peloton did not let the police bikes pass, it was not possible for them to consistently move ahead of the peloton to close all the roads. It cannot be objectively said whether it was an organization error or not, but it can be argued that the police team was small. However, it is not unusual for smaller-level races to have such limitation, as it does not have the same leverage or budget as World Tour events.

Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe DS Heinrich Haussler shared the same feeling of disappointment over the events that have taken place this week: "I'm a new team manager. But the UCI has to ask themselves: do these guys deserve to organize a race? They really have to look at it, and in my opinion the answer is: no. It's a shame if the race disappears, but does something bad have to happen before something really happens?"