The penultimate day of the Tour of Oman was an exciting prospect with the general classification finely poised between Rafael Valls (Lampre-Merida) and Tejay van Garderen (BMC) but it ended in confusion and bickering. Eventually the organisers acquiesced to the riders’ request and cancelled the day’s racing due to safety concerns but it wasn’t before some heated debate.
When the riders finally arrived at the finish line at the Ministry of Housing there was plenty disagreement between as to who wanted to race or not. However, there were two main agreements between much of the bunch. That it was important that they had all worked together and stood up for their rights, and that this could be a landmark day in terms of cyclists’ rights.
Here are some of the reactions and reports from around the peloton after the cancelled stage 5 of the Tour of Oman.
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Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) – 2010 Tour of Oman winner
“It was for the security of the riders. It is nothing against the organisers but it was impossible to do a descent at 85kph when the temperature is 47 degrees. The tyres were boiling and some of the guys could take them off with their hands and usually you can’t do that. The UCI has to organise regulations for extreme weather, like here with the heat and Milan-San Remo with the snow.”
Eddy Merckx – Race organiser
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