"When I was about to board the plane, they called me to tell me not to get on" - Victor De la Parte details airport experience upon cancelled Tour of Antalya

Victor de la Parte, Spanish rider of TotalEnergies, was one of the cyclists who was going to participate in the Tour of Antalya before it was cancelled due to the earthquake that devastated the region.

The ex-Movistar rider regretted not being able to take part in the race, although logically he explained that the only important thing at the moment is the victims: "They have warned us not to travel to Turkey. It's a shame, but the most important thing is for those affected."

Speaking to AS newspaper, De la Parte told the following story when he found out that he would not be travelling: "I had a flight from Barcelona to Paris and then to Turkey. When I was about to board the plane, they called me to tell me not to get on the plane because the race was cancelled".

After not being able to ride his second race in Turkey (he already took part in the Clasica Comunitat Valenciana in mid-January), he revealed his next race: "Next week, on Tuesday, I'm flying to Rwanda. I'm going to race the Tour of that African country".