Tinkoff-Saxo has lost a second rider in this year’s Vuelta following an incident involving a motorcycle on the race. This evening, the UCI WorldTour team has said it is considering whether it is safe to continue in the Spanish Grand Tour.
Sergio Paulinho needed 17 stitches after being hit by a moto on today’s Stage 11, according to a tweet from team owner Oleg Tinkoff.
Last week Peter Sagan abandoned the race after he was hit by a neutral service motorcycle.
In a statement published on its website this evening, Tinkoff-Saxo asked, "Can organisers of Vuelta a España guarantee a safe race?"
After providing details of the incident, it added: "Given the seriousness of the two accidents that involved riders of Tinkoff-Saxo at the Vuelta a España, the team will consider whether it is safe to continue racing under the current arrangements."
During the stage, TV footage showed riders angrily waving away motorbikes they believed had got too close.
The latest incident came just hours after Tinkoff-Saxo made public an open letter sent to the Vuelta's race director Javier Guillen and UCI president Brian Cookson outlining its concerns over Sagan's crash and demanding that measures be implemented to improve rider safety.
Among other things it asked that Vuelta organisers Unipublic "take appropriate and concrete measures to prevent similar incidents in the remaining stages of the race and its future events."
23 thoughts on “Tinkoff-Saxo considers Vuelta withdrawal after moto takes out another rider”
OK this may be the headlines
OK this may be the headlines but this is a great stage.
5000M of climbing and boy they are suffering big time.
Froome crashed and basically gave up/injured
Quintana struggling
Aru and Landa looking good and probably shows that the only double possible in GT’s are the Vuelta and Giro
ianrobo wrote:OK this may be
I wouldn’t say Froome gave up. He took a fall then suffered and completed an extremely tough day in the saddle.
I think now it’s clear that to win consecutive grand tours is going to be a rarity. There is not enough recovery time for riders.
Brutal stage by the sounds of
Brutal stage by the sounds of it, which I will look forward to watching later.
Completely unacceptable for this to happen though, expect more tweets from Oleg Tinkov going on about how it’s all a conspiracy…
Oh he has been tweeting and
Oh he has been tweeting and threatened to pull team out. Accidents happened and not quite clear yet what happened.
Of course Astana ‘suddenly’ return to form and Sky bound Landa won and easily, fit in well at Sky for those riders who have a very quick improvement.
ianrobo wrote:
Of course
Congratulations for finding a creative way to insinuate Sky of doping, on a day when their GC contender couldn’t keep up with the pace =))
700c wrote:ianrobo wrote:
Of
Congratulations for finding a creative way to insinuate Sky of doping, on a day when their GC contender couldn’t keep up with the pace =))— ianrobo
where did I say that at all ?
They have took a rider from a doping team and therefore it is fair and legitimate to see how Astana ‘improved’ today on that course to ask the question what happened to Landa ?
If I was sky or any other team I would not touch an Astana ride with a barge pole no matter how good they are.
Especially Landa who until this season had done nothing, nothing at all and wins stages on the toughest of courses. Look at his Palmeres it is one of a very very average rider until the Giro
ianrobo wrote:700c
Congratulations for finding a creative way to insinuate Sky of doping, on a day when their GC contender couldn’t keep up with the pace =))— 700c
where did I say that at all ?
They have took a rider from a doping team and therefore it is fair and legitimate to see how Astana ‘improved’ today on that course to ask the question what happened to Landa ?
If I was sky or any other team I would not touch an Astana ride with a barge pole no matter how good they are.
Especially Landa who until this season had done nothing, nothing at all and wins stages on the toughest of courses. Look at his Palmeres it is one of a very very average rider until the Giro— ianrobo
You might like to look up the definition of ‘insinuate’ in the dictionary? And yes, we all know what you’re getting at with your comments here.
I’ve heard various rumours about Mikel Landa going to Sky, but also heard that about Movistar. AFAIK nothing’s been confirmed yet, so you may need to keep a lid on your vitriol a little longer?
not legal recovery …..
not legal recovery …..
ianrobo wrote:not legal
Give it a rest
The fact that none of the top riders can maintain the high level to win more than one major indicates that they are clean. Or maybe they are just pulling the wool by under performing for 3 weeks in a major event
Footie seasons begun why
Footie seasons begun why don’t you watch that instead. They must all be spotless examples of fair sportsmanship not like this filthy sport of cycling.
I think ianrobo has a point.
I think ianrobo has a point. I don’t know authentic you think these performances are, but you have to have some doubt with sudden in race returns to form….whomever they are. Cough *Landa*, cough *BB*.
Colin Peyresourde wrote:I
Anything Astana do is dodgy … Why any other team would want one of their riders, god knows
Given it seems they are losing a fair number and rumours over Nibali of course leaving.
lol The omerta is strong
lol The omerta is strong here. 😉
If you were to blood dope you
If you were to blood dope you would require a certain amount of time to restock your blood bags. There is a limit to how many you can do in a year, and certainly the more you do the more likely you are going to compromise your quality.
Anyway, it was a great stage parcours. It’s a shame that it has come so soon in the race. If it had been in the final week you might have seen an Andy Schleck style attack off the front.
It’s a shame Froome crashed as it has really compromised the question of whether he was capable of winning the Vuelta this year.
So Chris takes a tumble,
So Chris takes a tumble, Astana produce a “remarkable performance” and Oleg is yelling at someone on Twitter…
There is nothing new here…
I see Mick Rogers got a medal.. maybe another case of how far down the list do you have to look to find the rightful owner?
Quote:I see Mick Rogers got a
You have to laugh, especially as Ekimov and Julich are gold and silver. Maybe the answer to your question is ‘further’.
But was he wearing high vis &
But was he wearing high vis & a helmet?
Oh…..
Froome crashes and is hurt so
Froome crashes and is hurt so he cant keep up the pce at the front……and that means what exactly ?
Landa has not raced for sometime and during this race has not really shown much until he gets a chance to break away……………..and that means what exactly ?
Lindemann won stage 7 and has done nothing all season, does that mean he has been doping, the list can go on and on but if your from either Astana, Sky or Tinkoff and you win then its obvious your doping.
Landa is going to Sky, funny
Landa is going to Sky, funny enough Oleg Tinkov confirmed that in this with me and has the same doubts before yesterday (this was from last Friday)
Oleg Tinkov @olegtinkov
can someone tell me what happened with @AstanaTeam ? Were SUPER dominance at Giro, so-so at Tour, and very shitty at Vuelta with same riders
ian @ianrobo1
@olegtinkov @AstanaTeam TBF Aru looks good so far but Landa, sky really want him ??
@olegtinkov
@ianrobo1 @AstanaTeam they signed him
ianrobo wrote:Landa is going
Ah well if a rival team principal confirmed the contractual status of another team ‘s rider, it must be true! =))
(back off topic sorry!)
700c wrote:ianrobo
I would think he has more info than any of us
The thread appears to have
The thread appears to have been hijacked. To go back on topic, There appears to be far too much traffic on these races, particularly on the the narrow stages. Do all the team cars really need to be on every stage? They all have radios. 2 or 3 neutral cars/bikes are all that are needed. Yes I know it was a neutral in the Sagan case, but the amount of traffic scares me, just watching, and I am a Manchester cycle commuter.
but then again fans and TV
but then again fans and TV want to see the riders face close up, in pain etc it is part of the story of any stage/race.
The best idea was Carlton Kirby yesterday when he said have a 15M exclusion zone around a rider and a system of warnings to enforce it.
Maybe the use of drone tech in the future will make the need for so many bikes/camera’s not needed ?