The Tour of the Pyrenees will resonate with riders and organizers for a long time to come. Because the course was so unsafe, the riders refused to ride the final stage. “But a completely closed course is not possible in France because of the legislation,” says course director Pascal Baudron.
“It was a mess and it still haunts me all the time. There will be no other release. The Pyrenees Tour is over.”
A week after the race on the French women’s stage grabbed negative headlines, race director Pascal Baudron remains “deeply disappointed”.
Cars collide, drivers scramble to get away, and unmarked road obstacles. The Pyrenees riders were shocked last week.
When the volume was full for the riders, the UCI decided to cancel the final stage on Sunday.
With his first reaction, race director Baudron didn’t make himself any more popular. He portrayed riders as “spoiled children with demands out of proportion to the standard they are riding”.
Words the race director deeply regrets. “My comments were out of proportion. I would like to apologize to all the riders I have hurt.”
“I misjudged myself at a time when I was disappointed, frustrated, and in a cold mood at the same time.”
“The UCI commissioner said safety is guaranteed”
The race director agrees with the riders when they wanted to give up on Hautacam’s second stage because of the unsafe situation.
“The trail at Lourdes was very poorly organized and that was our fault. It was pure chaos,” Boudroon admits.
“If the stage race had stopped permanently that day, I wouldn’t have had any problems with that.”
Baudron was still upset about the UCI’s decision to cancel the stage the next day.
“Especially because the head of the race jury himself said for the first time that the conditions for the race were perfect. The UCI commissioner was also of the opinion that safety was guaranteed.”
But they revised their opinion after a letter from the cycling federation addressed to UCI president David Lapartenet.
500 reference and French law
Unanswered question: How could the organization have failed to make the course traffic-free?
“The riders want a completely enclosed track. But in France it’s impossible.”
Baudron explains why: “French law says we can temporarily privatize the course. Read: we can block the way from the race director’s car to the broomstick.”
As a result, according to the race director, it is inevitable that cars will enter the track.
“The riders want the course to be 100 percent theirs. But only races like the Tour and Paris-Roubaix are allowed to do that in France.”
Using sign men can provide solace. “But we don’t have the financial resources, and especially the human resources, to do so,” says Bodron.
“On a 125-kilometer track, you need 500 signalmen at all the intersections together. Just look for those people.”
“No more matches left”
Because of last weekend’s uproar, Baudron has thrown in the towel. “There will be no more Pyrenees tour in the future.”
“If you organize something, you want to enjoy it. But now it’s all misery. A major disaster. Besides, we can’t make racing any safer than it was now.”
The race director sounds the alarm. “Our tournament will be gone. The Baloise Women’s Tour and the Women’s Tour have been canceled before.”
“It is also not certain that the women’s Giro will be able to continue at the end of this month. In the long term there will be no more races left.”
“Cycling is great, but it’s a very fragile sport,” concludes Boudron.
It was a major disaster. This was the last Tour des Pyrenees.
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