The start of the Giro di Lombardia in Bergamo, Italy, faced a five-minute delay on Saturday as professional riders staged a protest to highlight growing concerns over safety. Although race organisers initiated the countdown and waved the starting flag, the peloton refused to move, leading to confusion among spectators gathered for the event.
Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel addressed the crowd during the stand-off, emphasizing the urgent need for change. He pointed to the rising number of dangerous encounters between vehicles and cyclists, specifically citing the death of British rider Fin Tarling, who was killed in a collision with a vehicle during the Volta a Portugal this past August.
Reflecting on the risks faced by the sport, the double Olympic champion stated that riders are no longer willing to accept injuries or deaths as part of the competition. He stressed that they are fighting to protect their colleagues and friends from preventable tragedies. Following the brief demonstration, a second flag was waved, and the race proceeded toward Como.
The protest follows a series of alarming incidents this week, including a collision at the Tre Valli Varesine race where Thomas Gloag and Marcel Camprubi were struck by a police motorcycle traveling in the opposite direction. The CPA, the union representing professional cyclists, issued a formal statement—shared widely on social media by riders like Evenepoel and Tom Pidcock—declaring that the current level of failure is unacceptable.
The CPA is now urging the sport’s governing body, the UCI, to mandate that race organizers take full accountability for road security. The union noted that professional riders operate at high speeds with minimal protection, relying entirely on organisers to keep courses clear. The statement underscored that while riders want to put on a show for their fans, their primary priority is returning home safely to their families. So we want to make this statement to show to the world that we cannot keep accepting the fact that guys are getting injured or literally dying in what we like the most to do,” added double Olympic champion Evenepoel, unfortunately we lost the life of a brother and of a colleague of us. This summer, a life was tragically lost to exactly this kind of failure. That responsibility is not being met,” the CPA statement added. However most importantly we want to come home safe to our loved ones.
This protest unfolded at the Giro di Lombardia, the final of the five prestigious cycling Monuments. The event serves as the penultimate race on the current UCI World Tour calendar. Tadej Pogacar, who dominated the race for the previous five years, was absent from this year’s edition while recovering from a season-ending injury sustained at the Vuelta a Espana.
