Barely had the riders finished stage seven of the Giro d'Italia today, before Lance Armstrong launched a stinging attack on the stage route via his Twitter site.
The Texan was dismayed at the inclusion of the long descent into the finish town of Chiavenna, a winding road made even more dangerous thanks to the pouring rain and bad visibility.
"Done with st 7," Armstrong posted. "I've seen it all now. 25 mile fast decent to the finish. In the pissing rain. Makes no sense. The boys in the bunch are livid."
The race organisers effectively neutralised the stage finish due to the weather, giving riders their times at the 3km-to-go mark to avoid any unnecessary pile-ups in the finishing straight.
The stage was won - safely - by Edvald Boasson Hagen (Columbia-Highroad). Although treacherous, remarkably no one crashed or suffered injury as a result of the weather.
This is Armstrong's first taste of riding the Giro d'Italia, and the seven-times Tour de France winner seems to be experiencing a roller-coaster ride. He was 'blown away' by the reception in Venice, but has since suffered in the mountains, losing time to his rivals.
To add to his woes, his Astana team are also suffering from non-payment of rider wages from key sponsors. The entire team started the stage wearing jerseys with sponsors names faded into obscurity.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
On Thursday, Italian paper Tuttosport reported that Armstrong would not complete the race, instead returning home to be with his heavily pregnant girlfriend.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Giro d'Italia 2009 links
Stage reports
Stage six: Scarponi wins longest stage with big break
Stage five: Menchov wins mountain battle as Di Luca grabs the pink jersey
Stage four: Di Luca denies Soler on the line; Lovkvist takes pink jersey
Stage three: Cavendish loses pink jersey after being caught behind late crash
Stage two: Petacchi denies Cavendish the stage win
Stage one: Cavendish in pink as Columbia prove their point to Garmin
Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.
Customizable titanium race bikes without the eye-watering price tag: Blackheart's Road Ti bike reviewed
Kasia Niewiadoma wins La Flèche Wallonne, first road victory for five years
