“The organiser just did not listen at all” - Riders’ Union boss says ignored safety warning led to crashes amid Il Lombardia protest
Cycling
Adam Hansen has revealed that SafeR warned organisers at the Renewi Tour not to use a dangerous section of road before two crashes later occurred there, as rider anger over safety spilled into public view at Il Lombardia on Saturday.
The CPA president, speaking on Domestique’s Hotseat podcast, recalled a stretch of road between three and two kilometres from the finish where a crack ran along the centre between concrete slabs. SafeR analysts inspected the route and recommended avoiding it. “SafeR gave a recommendation not to use this street, use another route where you can go to the finish and avoid this,” Hansen said.
The original route remained in place. “The organiser just did not listen at all,” Hansen continued, adding that two crashes subsequently happened because of the crack.
Hansen’s comments have come into sharper focus after the peloton refused to roll away for around five minutes before Il Lombardia. Remco Evenepoel spoke on behalf of the riders in Bergamo following another run of serious incidents, while the death of 19-year-old Finlay Tarling at the Volta a Portugal in August remains at the heart of the wider push for change.
Peloton protest at Il Lombardia 2026
“SafeR analysts should have the power to make this change”
SafeR can inspect courses and recommend alterations, but Hansen wants its analysts to be given greater authority when they identify a problem. “That’s one thing we’re working on in the future, to make sure that SafeR analysts do have the power to make this change,” he said.
A certification system for sprint finishes is among the ideas being discussed. Hansen proposed checking the final five kilometres against a defined set of safety requirements before a finish is approved.
“We should do a certificate, like a SafeR certificate, for sprint finals,” he explained. “So the last five K must be checked and it must have all these parameters and then we’ll give it a SafeR stamp.”
Hansen remains supportive of SafeR itself and the fact that teams, riders, organisers and other stakeholders are now meeting regularly, but made no attempt to hide the CPA’s frustration with the speed of progress.
“The CPA’s not even happy with the direction it’s going,” he said. “I think SafeR is really good because it gets all the stakeholders. This is the first time that they’ve ever had all the stakeholders meet once a week. The most frustrating for the CPA and also the riders, and we hear it from the riders, it’s just too slow. It’s just too slow.”
He also questioned whether the right race organisers are always involved in those discussions. “One of the issues that I always say with SafeR is we have these organisers in SafeR. And we should have the other organisers in SafeR. They’re the problems.”
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“Organisers have zero excuse”
Hansen also drew a distinction between crashes caused by mistakes in the peloton and hazards that could have been dealt with before a race ever started. “Riders are allowed to make mistakes,” he said. “You’re on your limit, you’re fatigued, and you’re making your decisions based on all the riders around you.”
“When an organiser makes a mistake, they’ve had six months planning at least to make sure the course is right, to make sure there’s padding in the correct position, make sure there’s a marshal there," he added. “For me, they have zero excuse to make mistakes.”
The debate has intensified after another difficult week on the Italian calendar. A delivery van entered the course at the Coppa Bernocchi, while Thomas Gloag and Marcel Camprubí were struck by a police motorcycle travelling in the opposite direction at Tre Valli Varesine before Saturday’s collective action at Il Lombardia.
Hansen’s proposed certification system would go further than the recommendation ignored at the Renewi Tour. A sprint finish that failed the required checks would not receive approval. “If it doesn’t, then it doesn’t get approved and it cannot be run.”
No timetable has yet been set for introducing such a system.
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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Rafionain-Glas10-10-2026 - Bravo Paul Seixas!!! It just goes to show what BS UAE and Del Toro are without Pogi. It just goes to show that Remco "the great" is not great. Did he win the WC? NO!!! Is he going to win Il Lombardia-a Monument? NO!!! He won a BS second class race in Slovenia (my country), but when it comes to the "big boys" he's nothing (not including ITT). In the end of the cycling season 2026, we can all see why Pogi is THE GOAT...and we can all see a new rising star PAUL SEIXAS. Everything else is a sad sad story. PS: Remco's two big goals at the end of the season were: The WC in the road race and the Monument Il Lombardia. He won NOTHING!!! Ad acta!!!PogiSloFans10-10-2026
- And, if I’m correct, the first monument win for this legendary team which I still call AG2R with their garish brown shorts ;)anonymouscyclist10-10-2026
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