CW in Burgos for racing’s return
Face masks, mass testing and interviews via selfie sticks – this is how pro racing looks now, reports Chris Marshall-bell in Burgos
Men’s cycling’s long-awaited return from the coronavirus-induced stoppage was hailed a success by riders and teams, raising hopes that the condensed calendar can continue without too many problems.
More than four months after a disrupted Paris-nice nursed itself to the finish line, the men’s professional peloton, including 14 Worldtour teams, returned to action at the five-stage Vuelta a Burgos in northern Spain. Then, at the weekend, both the men’s and women’s pelotons competed in a sweltering Strade Bianche.
Won by Remco Evenepoel, Deceuninck-quick Step’s 20-year-old phenomenon, Burgos was a race full of the same occurrences, routines, traditions and charms, combined with Covid-19 protocols and a hefty dose of caution, especially with case numbers rising across the Continent.
The travelling nature of a stage race means it cannot operate in a bio-secure manner like other sports such as golf and cricket, but measures taken – including everyone involved in the race from riders and team staff to journalists taking regular Covid-19 tests, the last at least 72 hours before the start – reassured everyone present that only further government imposed stay-at-home measures should prevent the season from continuing.
Brian Holm, DS at Deceuninck-quick Step, said: “I cannot see how me being home with all of my friends, without a mask, is safer than being here.
“Why should we ever stop cycling? OK, if there is a total lockdown all over Europe then we have to, but I think it’s safer here than being home. We have to continue.”
There was an air of caution, however, as two riders from Israel Start-up Nation, including Brit Alex Dowsett, and three Colombians from UAE-TEAM Emirates, all left the race after being in recent contact with a positive case. All five returned subsequent negative tests.
Aside from Movistar, who would have preferred entire teams to leave the race rather than just individual riders, there was broad respect across the peloton for the decisive actions of both teams.
“I think it’s safer here than being at home”
The latter team’s sports director Aurelio Corral Ruiz told Cycling Weekly: “We are in a new era. They told us that this was going to happen, and we understand that the health of everyone is more important than the sport.
“There might only have been a one per cent or half a per cent chance [of a positive
test in the race] but there is no absolutely zero risk so we have to take such decisions. We have to be very preventive.”
Dowsett’s team-mate Tom Van Asbroeck said: “This is going to happen. It’s important to be honest. We have to be really clear and open towards this subject because this will make it or break it eventually.
“If teams aren’t transparent then everything will be a problem, there’ll be a positive test in the peloton and then everyone will be infected. We don’t want that to happen.
“The only solution now is to be open and we have to follow the procedures and protocols. It’s the way it’s going to be for the next couple of months, I think.”
All eyes on cycling
In the square at the foot of the spectacular Burgos Cathedral last Tuesday, the local newspaper headline screamed El mundo nos mira: the world watches us.
What TV audiences around the globe didn’t see was riders having their temperatures taken every morning and
dressed in masks ahead of and after each stage. Mikel Landa was reprimanded by his press officer for starting an interview without a Bahrain-mclaren branded mask ahead of one stage, underlining a new market for attention-deprived sponsors to secure exposure.
Race winner Evenepoel pleaded with fans before the race to maintain distancing and not to touch team equipment such as bikes. “If they want the races to continue they should respect the rules and if they don’t we have a problem,” he said.
The number of fans attending each stage, while not at the usual level, was sizeable and they struggled to maintain social distancing. However, almost all wore masks and were only permitted to view the team presentations after sanitising their hands.
Fans that did come altered their behaviour in accordance with the pandemic, but the familiar customs of attending a bike race remained – although close selfies and autographs appear consigned to the past for now, to the dejection of one young fan, whose polite requests for signatures were repeatedly rebuffed at the race’s start.
Some fans rode to the starts and finishes, and many brought picnics, camp chairs and beer, while adults and kids furiously chased bidons. Watching the finish of stage three in a cramped village bar was an on-duty policeman drinking a small beer and screaming for the nation’s evergreen hero, Alejandro Valverde. Xavier, dressed in the orange of Euskalteleuskadi, told CW: “Normally I go to many races every year, but this year it’s difficult. I just had to come here because I’ve missed cycling so much. It feels safe but my only concern is what happens if there is a positive in a three-week tour?”
Hector, a Colombian who lives in Burgos, said: “This is my first ever race.
I am really happy that the race is here. I don’t feel unsafe. I just wanted to cheer on the Colombians.”
Meanwhile, Jorge noted that “there are definitely less people than usual, it feels a little different to other years. But the racing and everything else is normal.”
Israel Start-up Nation’s Ben Hermans bemoaned the reduced number of spectators: “It’s easy to go deep when there are a lot of people, especially on the climbs. It feels a bit weird without the crowds.”
“Fans rode to the starts and finishes; many brought picnics”