In the wake of the Giro d'Italia, the Professional Cyclists Association (CPA) has released an open letter to the cycling family.

The letter, which was released Monday morning, sets forth the conditions that the Giro peloton had to endure during the race, conditions that went beyond the hardships expected in a road race.

As many of the rider representatives have stated since stage 19, the letter notes that cumulative fatigue, travel between stages, early starts, and concerns about illness all influenced the Thursday night vote and the Friday morning proposal to shorten stage 19.

"We would like to explain the reasons for our position regarding what happened on the third and final stage of the Giro d'Italia103," the letter, signed by "professional riders and the CPA," states. [Not only did we have to deal with more than 15,000 meters of climbing in only 600 km, but the endless travel, getting up at the crack of dawn, eating in the bus, and trying not to get sick during this special time of the year when the emergency caused by the global pandemic is becoming more serious, the many concerns about the present and the future, we are called for the 258-km flat stage to be shortened by 100 km.

"We were not afraid of the rain or the cold, as we proved with the Stelvio climb at the end of October, but with a pandemic underway and little concern for our safety, we showed our strength once again in the final stages of the Giro when we were exhausted.

This stage, originally set at 253 km, was extended by 5 km on Thursday night due to a bridge collapse midway through. This stage was the longest final-week Grand Tour stage since 1996, making the Giro the first Grand Tour in over 20 years to have four stages over 200 km in the final week.

"For the Morbeño-Asti stage, we made a proposal to avoid massive protests that would have resulted in a worse outcome for the Giro. We probably could have spoken to the organization and the jury first, but so far, every time we have done that, we have not been heard." Even when there have been serious accidents, even when we have asked them to evaluate the route, the travel, the arrival, and many other situations that have turned out to be dangerous for our safety.

"Anyway, we do not want to continue the controversy. Instead, we want to be proactive and emphasize how cycling can grow if all stakeholders work together.

After the stage ended and CCC's Joseph Cerny won the breakaway, Giro organizer Mauro Veni threatened the riders with legal action, claiming that their actions had overshadowed the race.

The letter then referred to an incident involving Elia Viviani and Luca Wackermann during the race, in which Viviani was knocked down by a race bike and Wackermann was hospitalized after hitting a barrier flown by a LyTV helicopter.

"We always did our best, despite the flying barriers and the contact with the bikes. Fatigue and thoughts built up in our bodies and souls until we exploded in Morbeño.

The letter thanked the riders and the CPA for organizing a major race during "this very difficult time," but added that the riders still deserve to be heard, even if fighting for their own interests conflicts with those of the race organizers It concludes.

"We are not heroes as someone might think, we are human beings. There are pros and cons, and I worry about us, our families, our teammates and the staff who work with us.

"We are happy to have arrived in Paris, home of the Tour de France, and Milan, home of the Giro d'Italia. We hope that the Vuelta will arrive safely in Madrid and that in 2021 we will be able to race in all the postponed events, famous and not so famous.

"For us, and for the entire movement of which we are, for better or worse, the most exposed, every competition is valuable. Even if you say something we don't like, we deserve to be heard."

Read the full open letter on the CPA website (opens in new tab) or at.

Dear Cycling Family,

We would like to explain the reasons for our position on what happened in the final third stage of the Giro d'Italia #103. Not only did we have over 15.000m of climbing to do in only 600km, but also endless travel, waking up at the crack of dawn, eating on the bus, trying not to get sick during this special time of the year when the emergency situation caused by the global pandemic is becoming more serious, and many worries about the present and the future - for everyone! In the midst of a difficult and stressful season for everyone, we sought to shorten the 258km flat stage by 100km.

We were not afraid of the rain or the cold, as we proved at the end of October with the ascent of Stelvio, but with a pandemic underway and little regard for our safety, we again showed our strength in the final stages of the Giro in exhaustion.

During the Morbeño-Asti stage, we made a suggestion to avoid a massive protest that would have had much worse consequences for the Giro. Perhaps we could have discussed this with the organization and the jury first, but so far, every time we have done that, our views have not been heard. Even when there have been serious accidents, even when we have sought assessments of routes, travel, arrivals, and many other situations that have turned out to be dangerous to our safety.

In any case, we do not wish to continue the controversy. On the contrary, we want to be proactive and emphasize how cycling can grow if all parties work together.

We have always been the ones at the forefront and we are grateful to those who have organized the race, set up the team, and made possible the start of the 2020 season along with our hard work and professionalism during this very difficult year.

Personally, we have undergone all kinds of tests, faced moves and journeys that put our own and our loved ones' health at risk, and always tried our best despite the flying obstacles and bikes that came into contact with us as we struggled on our bikes. Fatigue and thoughts built up in our bodies and souls until we exploded in Morbeño.

We are not heroes as someone might think, we are human beings. We have strengths and weaknesses, we worry about ourselves, our families, our teammates and the staff we work with.

We hope that the Tour de France will arrive in Paris, the Giro d'Italia will arrive in Milan, the Vuelta will arrive safely in Madrid, and in 2021 we will be able to compete in all the postponed events (famous and not so famous). And we hope that in 2021 we will be able to race in all the postponed competitions, well-known and not so well-known. All of these competitions are valuable to us and to the movement as a whole, of which we are the most exposed actors, for better or worse. Even if we say things you don't like, we deserve to be heard.

Thank you for listening to us in Morbeño.

Professional Riders and CPA