Il Lombardia race boss Luca Guercilena has described a rider-led protest that delayed the start of the final Monument of the season by five minutes as fair and correct, while noting that the demonstration could have been better coordinated to give competitors a larger platform.
Start-Line Negotiations and the Five-Minute Delay
Leading professional cyclists approached RCS Sport general manager Luca Guercilena roughly 25 to 30 minutes before the start of Il Lombardia in Bergamo, informing him of their plan to stage a protest. According to cyclingnews.com, the demonstration resulted in a brief five-minute delay to the marquee race.
Instead of creating friction, the race organisers accommodated the action immediately. RCS Sport requested only that a rider take a microphone to explain the situation directly to the spectators on-site. Remco Evenepoel stepped forward, taking the microphone to address the crowds and outline the peloton’s stance on safety standards. We asked, ‘do you have a statement?’ And they said, ‘we are going online now’,
Guercilena noted.
Union Demands Following Recent Road Incidents
The CPA professional cyclists’ union emphasized that the demonstration stemmed from alarming safety failures during recent events. According to bbc.com, the union highlighted that Thomas Gloag and Marcel Camprubi were struck by a police motorcycle traveling in the opposite direction during the Tre Valli Varesine race earlier in the week.
This week alone, there were multiple incidents of vehicles on race courses,
the CPA stated in a release reposted by riders including Evenepoel and Pidcock, as reported by bbc.com. This summer, a life was tragically lost to exactly this kind of failure. We will not stand for this any longer.
The CPA has called for cycling’s governing body, the UCI, to help ensure race organisers take responsibility
and act
to improve safety standards. The union added that riders race at high speed with little protection, depending on the UCI and race organisers to secure roads, and stated, That responsibility is not being met. We did not want to affect the race, only to show what riders can do when we stand as one.
Management Perspective on Coordination
Reflecting on the execution of the protest at the finish in Bergamo, Guercilena told cyclingnews.com that the underlying message was entirely justified, though logistics could have been optimized. We can all agree on the content of the action, it was very fair. We all support what the riders are asking for, and for us the safety of the riders is important as well,
Guercilena stated.
| Event Detail | Race Information |
|---|---|
| Race Division | RCS Sport (Cycling Division) |
| Location | Bergamo, Italy |
| Protest Duration | 5-Minute Start Delay |
| Key Speaker | Remco Evenepoel |
Guercilena added that organisers would have happily provided a dedicated stage rather than a simple microphone setup had they been given more advanced notice. He also noted to cyclingnews.com that while RCS Sport maintains strict control over its course roads, safety initiatives must be addressed consistently across races run by all independent organisers. For sure we would have loved to have coordinated better and given them more voice,
Guercilena said, adding, Our goal is to improve the safety of cycling in general, so it’s more than OK. No hard feelings.
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