“Like a scared dog, he shouted ‘race’ then quickly put his head back in the car” - Race director slammed after mass crash left Giro d’Italia without ambulance cover
Cycling
Jasper Stuyven has delivered a furious criticism of race direction at the Giro d’Italia after Stage 2 was restarted following a huge crash, despite riders believing the race had been left without full ambulance cover.
The second stage in Bulgaria had already turned into one of the most chaotic days of the race when around 30 riders went down on rain-soaked roads with 23km remaining. UAE Team Emirates - XRG were hit particularly hard, with Jay Vine and Marc Soler both taken to hospital, while Adam Yates finished more than 13 minutes behind stage winner Guillermo Thomas Silva after crashing heavily.
Santiago Buitrago was also forced to abandon and taken to hospital for further checks, adding another major name to the list of riders removed from the Giro by the same incident.
The race was neutralised for several kilometres while medical vehicles dealt with the fallen riders. But Stuyven, speaking afterwards to HLN, said the situation should have been handled differently before racing was allowed to resume. “There were no ambulances left,” Stuyven said. “But there was still a descent coming that could be dangerous.”
Riders wanted GC times neutralised
According to HLN, several riders spoke with race direction during the neutralisation, including Stuyven, Victor Campenaerts, Jonas Vingegaard, Filippo Ganna and Jonathan Milan.
Stuyven said the riders were not asking for the stage to be cancelled entirely. Instead, they wanted the general classification times to be neutralised, allowing those willing to take risks to continue fighting for the stage win while removing the need for GC riders to race the following descent at full intensity.
“We wanted, after that crash, a neutralisation of the times for the classification, so that the daredevils could still fight for the stage win, but no unnecessary risks had to be taken on that next descent,” Stuyven explained.
That request came after a crash serious enough to reshape the entire race. Vine was taken away on a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance, Soler was also sent to hospital, Yates lost huge time, and Buitrago’s Giro ended before the race had even left Bulgaria.
Stuyven hits out at race director
Stuyven’s strongest criticism was reserved for the way he felt the decision was communicated. “The race director said they were looking into it,” he said. “After which he stuck his head out of the car like a scared dog, started waving his flag and shouted ‘race’. Then he quickly put his head back inside the car.”
The stage did eventually continue, with Jonas Vingegaard attacking on the Lyaskovets Monastery Pass before Guillermo Thomas Silva won from the chasing group and moved into the Maglia Rosa.
But the sporting outcome was almost secondary to the wider safety debate. After two crash-marred stages in Bulgaria, the Giro now heads into Stage 3 with the peloton already carrying heavy physical damage and growing frustration over how the race has been managed.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Seriously do you think when somebody gets into a serious accident, the ambulance is called by the hurt person?🤦 there is always a buddy system in place for a risky job. police , firefighters etc so that if someone gets hurt, the other call that in.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
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