The director of the CIC (Tour Féminin International des Pyrenees) criticized the participating riders after the UCI (Union Cyclistique Internationale) canceled the event due to safety concerns before Sunday's final stage.

After Friday's opening stage was marred by a series of dangerous incidents, including oncoming cars on the race route and parked vehicles blocking the road, the peloton protested on the second stage until the final climb of Autacam, where Marta Cavalli (FDJ-Suez) took the win and leader's jersey, effectively neutralized the race.

Due to these safety issues, several teams chose to withdraw before the final stage on Sunday, and the UCI subsequently cancelled the remainder of the race after consultation with the organizers, CPA, and commissaires.

The decision to cancel the event was made by the UCI, but race director Pascal Baudron reserved his anger for the riders who raised concerns about the dangers they faced on the opening stage.

According to La Nouvelle République, "What is happening is that there are demands that are not up to their level. They think they are competing in the Tour de France and that they have to close all the roads and block everything. But you can't do that in France."

Even after the race was officially canceled, Baudron focused her criticism on the riders, claiming that they were "sawing off the branches they are sitting on."

"They will be able to cry the day the race is gone.

"Frankly, I don't think it's worth holding the race if months of hard work piled up for the whims of spoiled children is going to be ruined. And I think about the volunteers who work so hard. It's devastating to morale."

Speaking to La République des Pyrénées, co-organizer Elisabeth Chevenne-Blaché admitted that concerns had been raised about the opening stage, but insisted that there had been no problems on the second stage to Autacam. This was the second edition of the Tour des Pyrenees, the first having been won last year by Krista Dobel-Hickok.

"The idea of this race was to give visibility to the women's race, to provide a mountain race that does not exist elsewhere on the calendar, and to prepare the riders for the Tour de France Femme," said Chevenne-Blaché, and after the UCI ruling, the French Cycling Federation He added that attempts to run the final stage under the aegis of the French Cycling Federation had failed.

"Many races have been stopped. The Tour of Belgium has been canceled, the women's tour has been canceled, and the Giro may not even take place. If this continues, there will be no women's cycling."

"The Tour of Belgium has been cancelled.

In a letter to the UCI on Sunday morning, CPA president Adam Hansen noted that 17 of the 24 teams expressed concerns about the safety of the race, with only seven teams in favor of continuing the race. Hansen added that a poll of team managers showed nine teams in favor of continuing the race and nine against.

"Given the risks, I firmly believe that bicycle racing is not worth risking the lives of female cyclists," Hansen wrote.

Simone Boirard (Saint-Michel-Mavic-Ober93) described the dangers experienced by the peloton in the opening stage.

"There were oncoming cars," she told Radio-Canada. When I got to the top of the hill, there was a vehicle parked on my left and I had to turn right to go around it."

." There were only four motorcycles in the race as well, so they got a little overwhelmed and passed us a little faster on the narrow road."

Boirard expressed sympathy for the organizers following the race cancellation, but stressed that the situation the riders faced was not acceptable.

"I have mixed feelings. I think it's shameful for our organization, but at the same time, if we continue to tolerate this for too long, our safety will be at risk. It was one of the worst races I've ever seen, but on the other hand, it's true that other races were dangerous as well."

Cofidis sport director Gael Leberec described the situation as "delicate," but expressed hope that it might be an opportunity for improvement in the future.

"Without the organizers we would not exist, and we are aware that we are lucky to have a full calendar. But we can't put our players at too much risk if security is deemed too weak," Ruberg told La Nouvelle République.

"It is a sad day for women's cycling, but also an important day for the future of the sport.

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