The Etoile de Bessèges descended into chaos and protest early on stage 3, with a number of main groups deciding to desert the race on account of harmful circumstances and vehicles driving on the course.
Soudal-QuickStep, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, EF Education-EasyPost and Uno-X Mobility all refused to race on however different groups raced on.
Ineos Grenadiers have confirmed to Cyclingnews that their riders additionally deserted the race.
“Our group is likely one of the a number of which have determined to retire from at present’s #EDB25 stage on account of a number of incidents over motor automobiles being allowed onto the race course,” Soudal-QuickStep stated in a press release.
“We discover this unacceptable and determined to not rejoin the stage as we prioritise the security of our rides and employees.”
EF Education-EasyPost stated: “Our group, together with a number of others, has determined to retire from the Étoile de Bessèges on account of security issues, together with the presence of transferring automobiles on the race course. The security of our riders and employees is our high precedence.”
The stage was initially neutralised after 17km of racing within the rain when the riders instantly got here head to head with a automobile on a roundabout.
After discussions between rider representatives, race organisers and the UCI officers, it was agreed to neutralise the race for the climb and descent of the Cols des Brousses.
Some riders set off when the stage restarted however different riders didn’t begin and headed to their buses. It is unlikely they are going to be allowed to contest the remaining races.
A automobile drove into the peloton throughout stage 2 on Thursday, with riders narrowly avoiding a high-speed collision. However, Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) crashed and was pressured to desert the race.
