Severe weather and rider protest causes cancellation of Tour of Denmark stage (video)
Tour of Denmark riders protested mid-stage that the conditions were dangerous and the stage was cancelled after the UCI's Extreme Weather Protocol was brought into play
Stage two of the Tour of Denmark was cancelled on Wednesday due to severe wind and rain posing a danger to the riders.
Initially the original 183km stage from Svendborg to Odense went ahead in a shortened version with a long neutralised section.
However, it soon became clear that the UCI's Extreme Weather Protocol should be invoked and the stage was scrapped with 70km remaining. Some riders had taken shelter under trees during the stage.
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"After a shortening and a neutralisation during the stage, the riders did not want to continue and requested that the stage be cancelled," the Tour of Denmark organiser said in a statement.
"A wish that race organisation accepted according to the UCI Extreme Weather Protocol."
The move came as a relief to teams and riders who applauded the organiser for cancelling the stage, although some had protested that the stage should never had been started in the first instance.
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Stage one winner Casper Pedersen (Giant-Castelli) retains the overall race lead after the cancelled stage. The five-stage, UCI 2.HC-ranked race concludes on Saturday, September 16.
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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.
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