'A clear signal of protest' - Riders neutralise Criterium du Dauphine start and urge safety talks

There have been several bad crashes in recent weeks that have caused serious injuries.

Only this weekend, Remco Evenepoel suffered a fractured pelvis and a right lung contusion after crashing at Il Lombardia while Steven Kruijswijk and Emanuel Buchmann were hurt after an incident on Stage 4 of the Dauphine, with Kruijswijk’s Jumbo-Visma team-mate Tom Dumoulin describing the conditions as “disgraceful”.

Riders’ union, the CPA, organised a protest on the final stage of the Dauphine with riders neutralising the first descent.

“The riders want to send a clear signal of protest to both the organisers and to the UCI referring to the serious crashes and accidents that have occurred in the recent races, asking for greater attention to their safety,” read the statement from the CPA.

“The CPA asks the UCI and all stakeholders of cycling to set up a round table to start the revision of the regulations to get a clear feedback in terms of prevention and sanctions towards the race organisers. The purpose of this is to protect the physical integrity of the riders and to allow them to carry out their work in greater safety.”

Dani Martinez (EF Pro Cycling) secured overall victory at the Dauphine after a thrilling final stage.