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  "description": "Stage 2 of the 2026 Giro d'Italia was overshadowed by a mass crash with 23 km to go, resulting in injuries to more than a dozen riders, and the temporary neutralisation of the stage. The race was allowed to resume after about 5 km, but with crashed riders still just getting going again, there was some disagreement about how the incident was handled, and whether the neutralisation should have been released when it was.\n\n\"There were no ambulances left, but there was still a descent coming that cou",
  "path": "/stuyven-criticises-handling-of-giro-neutralisation/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-09T20:59:37.000Z",
  "site": "https://escapecollective.com",
  "textContent": "Stage 2 of the 2026 Giro d'Italia was overshadowed by a mass crash with 23 km to go, resulting in injuries to more than a dozen riders, and the temporary neutralisation of the stage. The race was allowed to resume after about 5 km, but with crashed riders still just getting going again, there was some disagreement about how the incident was handled, and whether the neutralisation should have been released when it was.\n\n\"There were no ambulances left, but there was still a descent coming that could be dangerous,\" Jasper Stuyven told _Het Laatste Nieuws_ in Veliko Tarnovo. The experienced Belgian went on to explain that many riders had asked the commissaire if GC times might be neutralised in light of the risky conditions, like on stage 21 of last year's Tour de France. But it wasn't given much consideration.\n\n\"The race director said they were looking into it,” Stuyven said. “After which he stuck his head out of the car like a scared dog, started waving his flag and shouted ‘race’. Then he quickly put his head back inside the car.\"\n\nThe remaining 18 km of the stage, including the Red Bull KM that came just a few minutes after the restart, unfolded without further incidents, thanks in part to Visma-Lease a Bike and Jonas Vingegaard's efforts to reduce numbers racing into the technical, partially-cobbled finale: \"The idea was to thin out the group significantly in order to avoid the dangers in the final kilometre.\"",
  "title": "Stuyven criticises handling of Giro neutralisation",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-09T20:59:38.650Z"
}