the essential
The Trois Vallées varésines race, in Lombardy, was canceled after more than an hour of racing this Tuesday, October 8. The Slovenian star and the peloton decided to stop because of the downpours making the event extremely dangerous.
The 103e edition of the Trois Vallées Varésines was canceled Tuesday after the runners, including superstar Tadej Pogacar, dismounted after more than an hour of racing in the cold and in the rain.
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The runners, with the Slovenian in the front row, stopped after an hour and fifteen minutes of racing at the first crossing of the finish line of an event held on a circuit, according to images broadcast by the public television channel Rai Sport.
“Everyone agreed to stop,” said the three-time winner of the Tour de France in comments echoed by Eurosport. It was only a matter of turns before someone fell. There were seven punctures in the fictitious start and during the last descent, we could no longer see where we were going.”
And the latter added that he understood the distress of the organizers at that time: “this race represents a lot for them, I saw how hard it was for the race director and the organization. They were in crying.”
Due to the terrible weather conditions prevailing in Lombardy, the organizers had previously postponed the start of the event by twenty minutes, which serves as a dress rehearsal for the Tour of Lombardy. They had also cut the course by 32 km.
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At the time of the interruption, six riders, including Frenchman Romain Bardet who will retire in June 2025, had escaped and had a two-minute lead over the peloton of favorites.
In the morning, the women’s event, contested in pouring rain, came to an end and was won by the Frenchwoman Cédrine Kerbaol.
