Monday, May 18, 2009

Giro go-slow after riders snap over safety: lance says guys are 'livid'

Telegraph.co.uk: The riders stopped after four of 10 16.5km laps of the Milan circuit and the man in the pink jersey of race leader, Danilo Di Luca, acted as their spokesman. Addressing supporters , Di Luca said: "We are continuing [to ride and] we wanted to stop and say thanks for your presence, but we don't feel the need to risk [racing] any more. The circuit is not safe."

Astana's Lance Armstrong had earlier complained, on his Twitter site, that the ­finish to Friday's stage – which was made even more treacherous by rain – "made no sense". He claimed that "the boys in the bunch are livid". Yesterday, as threatened rain promised to make conditions even more difficult, the riders appeared to snap, first stopping, then riding at snail's pace until the final lap.

SHOOT: The rain doesn't seem to be helping. Btw look at Mark Cavendish'es bandaged arm, below.

The Giro's organiser, Angelo ­Zomegnan, responded angrily, saying the riders had "betrayed the public".

SHOOT: Lance's latest comment - Special visitor for lunch. Eddy "The Cannibal" Merckx. Amazing man and an old friend. http://yfrog.com/174p6j
clipped from www.telegraph.co.uk
Mark Cavendish wins controversial ninth stage in Milan
clipped from www.mirror.co.uk

British rider Mark Cavendish won a sprint finish to claim his first win in this year's Giro d'Italia following a controversial ninth stage in Milan.

Mark Cavendish wins 13th stage of Tour

The riders spent the majority of yesterday's 165km leg indulging in a go-slow protest at what they felt was a dangerous city circuit. Australian Allan Davis was second.

 blog it

No comments:

Post a Comment