Giro d’Italia: Week 1 Not the ending we were looking for, but join us and @EvenepoelRemco on our journey from the hard work at our training camp in Tenerife, that led to #Giro maglia rosa ecstasy, and unfortunately, rest day agony. youtube.com/watch?v=WWIG8P…
Remco Evenepoel's father advocates big changes on rider protection from Covid-19: "Something has to change, absolutely"
CyclingWednesday, 17 May 2023 at 13:22
A lot of discussion has been ongoing in the background, as the Giro d'Italia quickly became a race of survival as most fear Covid-19 at this point of the race, and it can be turned on it's head in a split second. Remco Evenepoel's father believes strict measures have to be applied once again to prevent what has happened to the World Champion.
“We can't blame anyone for this, but it was actually a shame how things went. The organization, the press… everyone. When you see that at the start of the Giro, it was a shame. Everyone has to do their job, but things go wrong in this way,” Patrick Evenepoel told Het Laatste Nieuws.
The lack of masks and rider protection in media events mostly has been pointed out, with calls also from different figures within cycling to apply measures to limit contact with crowds on the road. Soudal - Quick-Step have not only lost Evenepoel who has spent his season preparing for the Corsa Rosa whilst he was leading the race, but five riders in total which leave the team virtually isolated having only raced half of the Giro.
“It seems as if the riders are puppets, playthings. Adrie (Van der Poel, ed.) sent me a message. According to him, something must be done, a statement must be made. When you get to the line, you see everyone running to put the microphone under a rider's nose first. However, the riders also have to do their job. What are we all doing?"
The amount of Covid-19 cases is not expected to lower through the upcoming days, as it began to rise in recent days. The outbreak is clearly spreading through the peloton and teams have begun applying their own measures to limit the chances of being affected as much as possible. However the health of riders is also at stake quite a lot, and Evenepoel senior prioritizes the safety of those who are part of the peloton.
“Something has to change, absolutely. It doesn't stop. The danger for the riders is that it will affect their heart muscle. We want to avoid a case like Colbrelli. If Remco is in the red for another three days, the consequences could be major. And then it's just the Giro, right? It's our child. Or someone else's child, husband or father. That is the most important," he concluded.
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