World champion Remco Evenepoel (Soundal-QuickStep) did not hold back in his criticism of the the lay-out of the course in the finale of stage 1 at Vuelta a San Juan Internacional (2.Pro), calling it "hectic and dangerous". He also took his case directly to the race organisation after the finish, appealing to them to allow all the riders be credited with the same time due to the conditions, which he believed were not acceptable.
Evenepoel was on the front leading out the bunch, for team mate Fabio Jakobsen, when the peloton reached a median in the centre of the road, with spectators standing on it. The world champion led a section of the group to the left, while the rest of the riders stayed on course, to the right. Those who went left - including Evenepoel and Jakobsen - lost vital positions, with Sam Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe) claiming a comfortable win.
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"It was hectic and dangerous. I almost hit a woman, I think," Evenepoel said of the incident just before the 1km to go banner. "As Michael Mørkøv said, it should not be allowed that there is still such an open stretch at 1.2 kilometers from the finish, where you do not know where to ride and where people are still crossing.
"It's a pity, because we were perfect at that point and Fabio (Jakobsen) couldn't sprint due to miscommunication about left or right. It was perhaps an unacceptable final kilometre."
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He confirmed he went to the race director to take up the case on the part of the riders, though himself lost no time as he finished on the same time as winner, and now race leader, Bennett.
"I wanted to know if everyone would get the same time because it was a weird situation," Evenepoel confirmed to Sporza. "I was not panicked, but I was shocked by the crossing people. A lead-out is without thinking, clearing your mind and accelerating. I was a bit upset and I wanted to ask if everything was okay. Lessons should be learned from this."
