Re: They went thataway!

On 2/19/2025 1:03 PM, Zen Cycle wrote:

Todays opening stage of the Volta ao Algarve ended in a spectacular debacle.
 As the peloton came out of the final roundabout a few hundred meters before the finish, the vast majority of the riders - including all of the riders vying for the sprint win - took the wrong turn and ended up on the road parallel to the finishing straight. Approximately 15 riders out of the 150-strong peloton followed the course, resulting in a win for Filippo Ganna of Ineos Grenadiers.
 https://www.eurosport.com/cycling/volta-ao-algarve/2025/riders-have- gone-the-wrong-side-watch-the-chaotic-finish-to-stage-1-of-volta-ao- algarve_vid2325488/video.shtml
 https://www.cyclingnews.com/races/volta-ao-algarve-2025/stage-1/results/
 UCI regulations state very clearly it's up to the rider to stay on the course, and even though there have been numerous cases over the years where riders have gone the wrong way, the race results have always stood. However, in this case, the organizers have take the extraordinary step of cancelling the results of the stage. There is no word yet if the UCI will consider overruling and awarding the win the Ganna.

I was amazed that happened, and my first thought was that of course Ganna should get the win. But it looks like officials did a really bad job of indicating the route.
I did very, very little road racing, but I did manage to turn a 3rd place finish into a 4th place finish by nearly making a wrong turn very close to the end.
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- Frank Krygowski