The Jumbo Visma riders who celebrated their teams 1-2-3 on stage 2 of Vuelta a Burgos yesterday have defended their actions, saying they had no idea of the crash carnage that unfolded behind them.
The winner of the stage, Timo Roosen, also told people on social there was no need to congratulate him on winning the stage considering the circumstances of the finale, with a large number of riders crashing at about 70km per hour.
The team was leading out David Dekker in the final kilometre of the 158km stage from Vivar del Cid to Villadiego when a speed bump just inside 500m to go - while the riders were racing downhill at high speed - resulted in a crash.
Dekker did not anticipate the speed bump and lost control when he hit it at such high speed. His fall, right at the front of the bunch, caused a very large crash behind.
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"I had no idea what had happened behind me", Roosen said. "We were behind Edoardo when there was a crash. I heard something and took a quick look, but had no idea there was such a big crash.
"When I checked if I had a teammate behind me, I saw yellow in my wheel. I thought it was David. Then I went full to the finish. Nobody passed me and I crossed the line, cheering.
"Of course that didn't look good, but I didn't know what had happened behind me. With the knowledge we have now, we would never have crossed the line cheering. I hope everyone involved is okay."
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Affini was more direct in his comments, perhaps feeling the pressure of people who weighed in on social media to criticise the team's celebration.
"Before everyone start writing bullshit on here, I want to make it clear I was doing a full lead-out effort," he said on Twitter. "I have seen a teammate passing me with 200m to go and I celebrated, yes. I really didn't have idea of the huge carnage behind us.
"I feel very sorry and sad for everyone involved and I hope no one is badly hurt. Dear UCI, after all that happened already, to allow a finish with a speedbump so high in the last 800m coming from a super high speed section is a disgrace. Unacceptable."
Dekker also took to social media to confirm he did not see the speed bump. “I am okay considering what happened,” he said. “Seems nothing is broken, except my moral, but I have a lot of wounds.
"I did not see the speed bump coming and with that high speed in the downhill section I lost complete control. I sincerely hope everybody involved is okay and will recover soon. Thank you for all your messages.”
