Gallery
Stand Down TDF21-21
The dangers and crashes of the first three days of the Tour let to a riders' protest at the start of today's stage. Frustrated that they don't have a voice and the UCI (Union Cyliste International) seems to be a rubber stamp for race orgainizers, the peloton though a visual exclaimation point was needed. I hope this gets a couple of pro riders the right to review course long before the race is staged and get the veto power to back up their concerns.
This is the a view of the back of the peloton as they stood on the side of the road for a full minute after the offical start of the stage. You can see one of the race photographers in the middle lifting his/her camera to get a shot of the riders standing around. You can see Michael Woods (Israel Start Up Nation) and Ben O'Connor (Ag2r-Citroen) with several Qhubeka riders, but clearly it was the complete peloton standing in resistance to the dangers that they can be placed in without a chance to effect change. For those who say why wasn't something said earlier, it works best when the cameras are on you. Then you have a voice and power.