In 2020, the Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta expanded to three days, adding a pre-time trial stage on Saturday and the Paseo circuit of Madrid on Sunday. However, this first stage did not go well, with the peloton going off course mid-race. Furthermore, the lack of live coverage made it very difficult to follow the action.

Unlike stages 2 and 3, which have been established as time trial and sprint stages for some years, the exact course of stage 1 was unknown until the organizers announced the details four days before the race.

At the same time, however, it was also announced that only a portion of the race would be broadcast live. UCI regulations for the Women's WorldTour race require a minimum of 45 minutes of live coverage each day, but only the third stage was to be broadcast live.

According to Cycling News, organizer RTVE reneged on its promise to broadcast all three days, intending to broadcast only the final stage. In addition, race organizers later worked with the UCI to secure a live broadcast and succeeded in live-streaming the time trial of the second stage.

Although the Giro Rosa was demoted from the 2021 Women's WorldTour due to issues such as lack of live broadcast and rider safety, Cycling News understands that the Madrid Challenge is unlikely to face a similar demotion as the race organizers are working to meet the required standards We understand that it is unlikely that the Madrid Challenge will face a similar demotion.

The lack of live video and lack of updates from the race made it sometimes difficult to follow the action in the first stage. The most notable example of this was 36 km into the stage, when Mireia Benito (Massi Tactic) was alone in the lead, 40 seconds ahead of the peloton, when the race was interrupted off the scheduled course.

After a few minutes of sorting, the race resumed with the 40-second gap still intact. However, it took nearly 30 minutes for this information to be relayed due to the lack of cell phone network coverage in the area through which the race had passed.

After the race, Benito explained the situation in a social media post and did not place the blame for the deviation on the organizers. She wrote: "I want to make it clear that the signs were correct."

"I was leading the race at the time and did not see the signs. There was a moment of hesitation and I followed the other peloton and took the wrong road. This was a human error, and the organization acted correctly, leaving a 40-second advantage to the peloton.

CyclingNews reached out to Unipublic, organizers of the Madrid Challenge, for comment, and they confirmed that there was uncertainty as to whether the event could be held during the COVID-19 epidemic, which affected their ability to confirm live TV coverage of the first stage.

"For some time, there has been a lot of uncertainty about the possibility of holding the race due to the pandemic situation. This has caused us to be very slow in announcing details and information about the race. Unfortunately, at the time we confirmed that the race could take place, we were unable to book and coordinate adequate air support for the live coverage of the race," admitted Laura Cueto, communications officer for the event.

"The live Facebook coverage (of the second stage) is being produced with a ground television production crew. Thanks to the perimeter of the circuit, we can produce live broadcasts on social media without the support from the air that we did not have for the first stage."

Asked about riders going off course during the opening stage, organizers confirmed that strong crosswinds affected the signs on the route. It was also observed that a rider stopped due to an approximate 1km discrepancy and it took 10 minutes to get back on the course.

"As you may have seen in the race summary, there was a lot of crosswind yesterday and unfortunately some of the panels showing the route flew off. I'm not saying that is an excuse for what happened, but that is the main reason for the race deviation."