Top riders threatened with littering-related Liège ban for Sunday; unclear if Dan Martin affected

A large peloton can leave behind a lot of litter, with a related ban mooted for Sunday's Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

By Graham Healy

A substantial number of top riders may be banned from taking part in Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège. L’Équipe have reported that Belgian police have visited team hotels to warn directeur sportifs and riders that they are investigating complaints about littering by riders.

The complaints arose from last year’s race when several cyclists were seen throwing bidons and wrappers on the road. Wallonian group Coalition Nature, representing 11 environmental organisations in the region, told L’Équipe: “It is not one complaint, but several that have been made since last year”. The spokesman from the group didn’t divulge names but did say: “If you take the top 30 finishers in the classification of Liège last year, you can see the 20 riders that are the subject of the complaint.”

Ireland's Dan Martin was 5th in the race last year. And after his 4th place in Fleche Wallone on Wednesday, he will start on Sunday as one of the favourites. It is unclear at this stage if he is one of the 20 riders in the complaint lodged by the environmental group.

A directeur sportif for one of the names, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed that police had visited the hotels and warned riders that the complaints could lead to a ban on Sunday. If 20 of the names below are banned, it would throw the race wide-open with many favourites not taking part.

Race organisers have been trying to address the issue of rubbish from races in the past number of years, with designated discarding areas after feed zones being introduced in many top races. Biodegradable bidons have also been introduced, and riders themselves are more aware of the issue. For example, the BMC Racing Team rider Marco Pinotti ensures that he always throws his bidons at the feet of spectators and keeps his used gel wrappers in his pockets. However, it seems that more efforts from all concerned will have to be made to ensure that the problem is addressed.

The top 30 finishers from last year’s race were as follows:

1. Maxim IGLINSKY

2. Vincenzo NIBALI

3. Enrico GASPAROTTO

4. Thomas VOECKLER

5. Daniel MARTIN

6. Bauke MOLLEMA

7. Samuel SANCHEZ GONZALEZ

8. Michele SCARPONI

9. Ryder HESJEDAL

10. Jelle VANENDERT

11. Rinaldo NOCENTINI