"We're a bit like monkeys in the circus" - BORA sprinter annoyed at expected Tour de France chaos

The Tour de France starts off with plenty flat and hilly stages this year that won't create big gaps and so for the space of around 10 days there will be a frenzy for positioning and likely several crashes. Danny van Poppel, who will be in the middle of it both for Primoz Roglic and sprinter Jordi Meeus, is not happy with what is on the menu.

"Nobody likes it. We're a bit like monkeys in the circus, right? For the public, it's interesting and more fun, so they throw it in again', van Poppel said in words to In de Leiderstrui. "For us, that's very frustrating. First and foremost for Primoz, but also for everyone who is preparing for a goal with the team. It looked like bad luck, but by now it's also part of cycling". 

The Dutchman knows what it's like to be within the chaos quite a lot and doesn't appreciate the lack of power that his and his professional colleagues words' have in the decision making on the race routes. "As riders, we have little to no say and I think that's a shame in cycling".

He already experienced a few yellow cards early in the season which would on paper incentivize safer racing, but he couldn't even get a response to his messages. "After that, I sent Adam Hansen (chairman of the CPA, ed.) a message via WhatsApp, but I simply got 0 response. And I was very disappointed about that. He wants to do everything safely and well, but then I have written down a lot of advice and I don't get any response. I'll be cycling for a few more years and then I also think: we'll just go for it, as a rider I don't have much say anyway". 

All-in-all, the veteran is not looking forward to where the sport is heading danger wise. "Look a bit at how it works in other sports and put people on it who really understand sprinting. If you look at other sports, cycling is still amateurish. But they don't want to listen to it completely and the UCI has so much power that we can't really do anything. There's no point in continuing to waste negative energy on it and then you just focus on performing," he concluded.