Riders and officials at the Dubai Tour were unanimous in their belief that cancelling stage four of the race due to high winds was the correct decision.
The race’s queen stage was affected by sandstorms and excessively high winds from the start, and after first reducing the stage in length and rerouting it to include three ascents of Hatta Dam, organisers RCS Sport eventually said that the race was unable to continue given the conditions.
It means that Marcel Kittel – winner of the first two stages and the victim of a punch yesterday – is on the verge of winning the tour for the second successive year, with just tomorrow’s expected sprint finish to come.
Kittel was one of the first to back the organisers, writing on Twitter:
Good decision of @rcssport & UCI to cancel stage 4 of @dubaitour. It's a real storm out here in Hatta & riders safety needs priority.
— Marcel Kittel (@marcelkittel) February 3, 2017
John Degenkolb, who could have feasibly inherited the leader’s jersey off Kittel if the stage had been allowed to go ahead, also backed the decision.
We were up racing today but due to heavy sandstorm we appreciate the decision of the jury to cancel stage 4 of the dubai tour. #dege #dgnklb pic.twitter.com/aDf7ldPR6l
— John Degenkolb (@johndegenkolb) February 3, 2017
One Pro Cycling founder Matt Prior agreed with the decision, too.
Well done @rcssport – tough decision but the right one 👍🏼 https://t.co/CKRHY1csfa
— Matt Prior (@MattPrior13) February 3, 2017
Trek-Segafredo‘s American rider Kiel Reignen believes that the right choice was made given safety issues, before explaining the difficulty of racing in such conditions.
All parties involved gave their best to make a race happen but the extreme wind and sand storms made it impossible.
— Kiel Reijnen (@Kielreijnen) February 3, 2017
With a series of high-profile disagreements between riders and the UCI in recent years, Rory Sutherland says today’s ruling was a big step forward.
An important moment today at @dubaitour when the riders came together and organization listened. Safety first. 👏👏👏👏👏
— Rory Sutherland (@rorysutherland1) February 3, 2017
Aqua Blue Sport’s Stefan Denifl raised a similar point.
Thanks @dubaitour for putting riders safety first and thanks to the teams and riders for staying together when it matters https://t.co/Cq9XQEGwut
— Stefan Denifl (@stefandenifl) February 3, 2017
Riders, including reportedly Mark Cavendish, proposed a time trial, but UCI regulations would not have approved it.
Riders did suggest changing the stage from a road race to time trial up Hatta Dam but it's apparently against UCI regulations. #DubaiTour
— Sophie Smith (@SophieSmith86) February 3, 2017
