Officials enforced bike checks in the final minutes before the start at the Tour of Austria Saturday, creating confusion and frustration among some riders and teams.
The 5.4-kilometre team time trial was the first of nine days of racing in Austria. Team Katusha logged the winning time of 05:45.38, exactly one second ahead of MTN-Qhubeka and five ahead of BMC Racing. Rudi Selig was the first to cross the line for Katusha and so took the first yellow jersey.
However there was anger and disappointment after the race. According to a press release from Tinkoff-Saxo, teams started in two-minute intervals, while it is customary to have at least three minutes between starts during a team time trial. Bike checks by UCI race officials are usual done several hours before the event but this time they were done as the teams arrived at the start ramp, with delay with one team going on to affect the other teams. Tinkoff-Saxo was the worst hit when half of their team were delayed 15 seconds, while BMC Racing team was forced to start without Peter Velits, the Slovakian national time trial champion.
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“We’ve complained to the organizers, as all our riders were on site and present as required,” explained Nicki Sørensen, team director of Tinkoff-Saxo in the team statement. “It’s a costly mistake and it’s a shame, as we are here to compete for a top spot in the general classification.”
The squad finished in last place out of 20 teams, 27-seconds down from Katusha. “One rider from BMC was delayed, so as a result, the controls of our bikes started less than two minutes before the scheduled start,” Sørensen added.
Four members of their squad were held back, including Kiserlovski, their GC captain. The team expects to receive a verdict on their complaint Sunday. “We will have to wait and see what the result of the complaint will be and if we are compensated in any way,” Sørensen said.
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