Mario Cipollini criticizes Vuelta and director Javier Guillén: "It has been a Vueltita... Often exaggerated, excessive, without thinking about the riders"
Cycling
Tuttobiciweb interviewed legendary sprinter Mario Cipollini after the end of the Vuelta a Espana. The Italian was at ease, taking a few jabs at the organizers for what he considered to have been nothing more than a "little lap".
The first straw came with the level of participation in the race. The sprinter, who always got out of the grand tours for not tackling the high mountains, believes that there was very little spectacle:
"I would call it a Vueltita. We didn't see much, there wasn't much of a fight. The race lived on O'Connor's somewhat surprising action. His rivals tried to pick him off bit by bit, but never brought him to his knees. The strongest team was the Australian's own team, Decathlon, and that says a lot about the level of this race."
There is no doubt, however, that Primoz Roglic was the strongest rider in the race:
"He was the strongest, no doubt, although I'm convinced he wasn't 100 percent. But go back and look at the stages of the Tour, look at Plateau de Beille and you'll understand the differences. When you have Pogacar, UAE in the lead - which we didn't see here with the abandonment of Almeida, and Yates who wasn't at his best - Vingegaard, Evenepoel, it's different cycling. There are other numbers, other powers. A huge difference."
And as we know Cipollini, he's not a man who'd fancy the "rampas inhumanas". He believes that they give less spectacle than other types of finishes:
"Too many uphill finishes and on climbs that are too hard make for fewer opportunities. The big guys let the breakaways arrive to conserve their energy: I think a limit should be imposed."
The slap at Javier Guillén, the organizer of the race, is tremendous, calling him 'arrogant' because of the route:
"In the way races are organized I see arrogance. More and more the extreme is sought, which often becomes exaggerated, excessive, without thinking about the riders, their needs and their possibilities. Then it happens like on Saturday, almost five thousand meters of elevation gain and zero spectacle because there is no strength left. I don't know to what extent it is appropriate to exaggerate like that. In my opinion it is contrary to the show."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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Fenix12-09-20244
Is he out of jail already?
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