A race director in France has provoked anger among cycling fans and media after accusing professional female riders and teams of having safety expectations “not in line with their level”.
The third and final stage of the Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées was cancelled on Sunday morning following a vote, conducted by the women’s arm of the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA), in which 17 of 23 competing teams said the race was too dangerous to continue.
The first two stages were marred by numerous near-misses as the peloton raced on roads that were open to other traffic. Video from the first stage, between Argelés-Gazost and Lourdes in south-west France, showed vehicles including a coach travelling in the opposite direction to the speeding peloton on narrow roads. Cars nearly pulled out into the path of the riders, with motorbikes, pedestrians and other road users also coming dangerously close to the competitors.
The first 25km of Saturday’s second stage was neutralised as a result after discussions between the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA), the UCI and the riders and teams. But the safety measures were not enough to save the race. “To maintain the safety of the riders, the UCI has taken the decision to stop #TourPyrenees,” the sport’s governing body, the UCI, said on Sunday morning. “After consulting with key stakeholders of the event, including @women_cpa, @cpacycling @HansenAdam, teams, commissaires, and the organising committee, today’s stage will not go ahead.”
The race director, Pascal Baudron, sparked anger among the cycling community by seeming to suggest – before the decision to abandon the race – that the riders and teams did not have the right to expect a completely safe race.
“The girls have demands that are not in line with their level,” Baudron said. “They imagine that they are on the Tour de France and that all the roads must be closed, that everything must be locked down. But in France, we can’t do that.”
Following the news that the third stage would not go ahead, Baudron was quoted as saying: “Quite honestly, I tell myself it is not worth organising a race to see all those months of effort ruined for the whims of spoiled children.”
Speaking on Monday, the head of the CPA, Adam Hansen, told the Guardian: “His [the race director’s] rolling closure was not up to standard, that’s the main problem ... The UCI regulations on rolling closure are that they must take all the cars off the route ... so that means any moving car has to be taken off.”
Asked if Baudron’s words risked sending the wrong message in relation to equality for women in cycling, Hansen said: “For sure, and that’s why the CPA made sure women’s races must be on the same level as the men’s. A lot of the women’s races are at the same level as the men … This is the first race I’ve had to do anything regarding safety for the riders.”
Professional cycling has been troubled occasionally by safety concerns this season. Disaster was narrowly averted at the men’s Paris-Nice in March, when a car suddenly appeared travelling in the opposite direction to the riders on a descent.
Meanwhile the reigning Tour de France champion, Jonas Vingegaard of Jumbo-Visma, wrapped up victory in the week-long Critérium du Dauphiné on Saturday, a key warm-up race for the the three-week men’s Tour de France, that begins on 1 July. The eight-stage women’s race starts on 23 July.
