"You couldn’t see the asphalt anymore, and manhole covers were coming loose" - Visma DS explains the dangers at Tre Valli Varesine before cancellation

Tre Valli Varesine 2024 did not go to plan for race organisers this Tuesday afternoon in Lombardy. After less than 60km of action, the race was brought to a premature end due to the horrific weather conditions and flooding on the roads.

One of those teams leading the charge of the peloton against the race organisers was Team Visma | Lease a Bike. Afterwards, the team's sports director, Marc Reef detailed in his post-race comments to the Dutch-based outfit's official website, just how dangerous it was on the roads and why bringing the race to a close was the only viable outcome.

“It was very extreme,” Reef begins his reflections on the situation. “The rain was pouring down, causing the roads to flood. In the descents, you couldn’t see the asphalt anymore, and manhole covers were coming loose. It was just too dangerous to continue racing under those conditions.”

As mentioned, alongside world champion and pre-race favourite Tadej Pogacar, Team Visma | Lease a Bike were very vocal in the protestations put forward to race organisers that ultimately ended the race with over 100km still to go. “Everyone knew it was going to rain heavily today," Reef explains. "Before the start, it was decided to cut two local laps, but that didn’t seem like a safer solution to us. After the start, our riders immediately indicated that they didn’t feel safe and wanted to stop. Tiesj Benoot, among others, took the lead in this decision. Along with Tadej Pogacar, he spoke with the UCI commissioner during the race. Stopping the race was the right decision.”

In his own comments post-race, Pogacar himself said of the concerning conditions. "At the neutralised start there were already 7 punctures and a couple of broken wheels. We tried to race, but in the descent on the last lap we did I was in second position behind Alessandro Covi, but we couldn't see where we were going," the Slovenian explained to Cycling Pro Net. "Everybody wanted to stop. It was just a matter of question in which lap someone would crash. Those are the worst crashes when you lose the handlebars. I know a lot of friends from the peloton who had concussions this year. It's something we need to be more careful of in the peloton."