Extreme weather conditions don't often affect pro cycling but it was the case this Thursday at Gran Camino. Stage 1 was cancelled due to the extreme cold and snowstorm that hit the riders close to the finish.
“I still think of myself as a rider in a race, not as an organiser. But it was impossible to continue," former pro and race organizers Ezequiel Mosquera said after the finish. “So much snow in Galicia? That's really not normal. Rain yes, but so much snow? That only happens once or twice a year,” Mosquera sighed. And let that be on this Thursday in February. “Unfortunately, we have no control over that.”
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The riders had made their way through a difficult day, but when the snow started falling inside the last 25 kilometers there was nothing that could be done. "I don't think it could have been avoided," Jumbo-Visma DS Frans Massen told Wielerflits. "This snowstorm surprised us so much that everyone was numb on the bike."
"The riders were crying with cold. I think it was the right decision," he revealed. "I don't really know how it happened, but I think it was the Cofidis riders who said it was too much. Personally, I immediately went to see the jury and the marshals immediately told me that the race was stopped." Although the difficult weather conditions remain, the peloton will hope the snow won't hit stage 2 which ends atop Monte Tegra and should be important for the overall classification.
(1/3) ❄️ Día duro, non, DURÍSIMO para todos. Non foi posible rematar a etapa, e mañá sairán todos o corredores co mesmo tempo, descontando as bonificacións obtidas hoxe. Así, na segunda etapa non haberá maillot amarelo nin branco. 📸 @SprintCycling @PhotoGomezSport
