The revolution was not televised, but telegraphed. Representatives of the Professional Cyclists' Association (CPA) of the teams competing in the Giro d'Italia used this platform as a sounding board throughout the race, and on Thursday night the group chat focused on the following day's 19th stage from Morbegno to Asti. [Race director Mauro Veni, as well as many team managers and Direction Sportifs, criticized the riders.

Stage 19 was originally scheduled to be 253 km long, but on Thursday evening, RCS Sport announced that the final distance would be 258 km due to the need to bypass a collapsed bridge at Candia Romellina near the finish.

Whether this minor change triggered the riders' decision to shorten the stage or simply strengthened their resolve is unclear, but by Friday morning, the Giro's CPA representative (former professional Christian Salvato) was asked to discuss the distance reduction with RCS Sport They were.

While Friday's conditions were not enough to trigger extreme weather protocols, riders expressed concern about the impact of riding such a long stage, especially in the second half of the Giro, during the two mountain stages, and under the rain that was falling during a pandemic.

"There is a CPA group in Telegram and each team has a representative in this group. Yesterday they were talking about shortening the stage by 100 km," Thomas de Gendt (Lotto Soudal) told Cycling News in Asti on Friday.

"Then a representative of the CPA (Cristian Salvato - editor) had to talk to the organizers, but it seems that no agreement was reached."

Salvato appeared on RAI's "Processo alla Tappa" program after Friday's finish at Asti to explain the process that led to the CPA's request for a shorter stage distance.

"It all started last night when some riders started contacting me and asking if the stage could be shortened, since I represent the CPA. I pointed out that it was very late, that everyone knew the Giro would be held in October, and that I knew the weather conditions," Salvato said. [After three days of 600 km and 15,000 m of climbing, we had to leave early this morning. They wanted us to make sure we didn't spend hours riding in the rain. The temperature at the start was 11 degrees Celsius and it was raining. That's cold."

However, until a few minutes before the race, and despite those representations, most riders seemed to be under the impression that the stage would go on as planned.

All were dressed and prepared for a 6+ hour race under incessant rain.

"We were fed and dressed for 260km, and then we came to the start and there were only 25 of us with two minutes to go," de Gendt said.

"Then I got on the radio and they told me to come to the coffee tent on the podium."

Thus the 133 riders remaining in the Giro Gruppo huddled under the canopy to avoid the persistent rain, and ad hoc discussions were held with race director Mauro Veni and the UCI commissaires.

"I was just standing there, but I agree with the decision to shorten the stage," de Gendt said. His teammate, Adam Hansen, was included in the discussion not on behalf of Lot Soudal, but because of his seniority and longstanding involvement with the CPA Society.

"He is one of the oldest, and organizers at many races talk to him.

"Adam was in the CPA group and said that 85 percent of the teams in that group wanted the stages shortened. Seventeen teams said yes to the shortening, so that's most of the group. It's not just one or two who want to complain. Many teams said it was not a good decision to ride 260 km in the rain between hard mountain stages.

The stage was eventually shortened to 124 km, and the peloton was bussed to the new starting town of Abbiategrasso.

The shortened stage was won by Joseph Cerny (CCC), who attacked from a breakaway group that included Simon Clark (EF Pro Cycling).

"After the epic 7-hour endurance race this week, it was going to be pretty extreme to ride another day in the rain.

"It was a good day," Clark said after finishing fourth in Asti.

"It wasn't a question of the weather, it was a question of the distance; it didn't seem necessary to do a flat race of more than 260 km, so we tried to find a compromise where we could race and show the spectacle but not run unnecessarily long distances."

Clark's words were echoed by Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb), who was pleased that his first day at Maglia Rosa was shorter than expected.

"It was very cold and rainy this morning and it was a very long stage. It's been a tough week with the coronavirus. It was really cold and everyone was in favor of shortening the stage."

However, there was some opposition, especially among team management.

Matteo Tosatto, Ineos' directeur sportif, admitted that his team was one of the few that voted to run the entire 19th stage. Tao Geoghegan Hart is in third place overall, 15 seconds behind Kelderman.

"The riders were lined up at the start. I wanted to run the stage," Tosat said. I understand the stage is long, but the riders wanted to race and we are on their side."

According to RAI, Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo) admitted some confusion as to the reason for the shortened stage, saying he was first informed of the idea when he signed up at the start in Morbegno. Nibali cautioned against taking sides and sitting on the fence.

"Nobody had told me until then. A decision was made, but I don't know the real reason," he said.

"I was told it was a CPA decision. It was a strange decision and I don't know if it was right. We have raced in much harsher conditions. I don't think the Telegram chat is the right place to discuss such an important issue and make such a decision."

Mauro Veni's anger, on the other hand, was evident in every interview he gave throughout the day.

This anger did not subside until the finish in Asti, where the race director made it clear that no prize money would be awarded for the shortened stage. On Friday evening, RCS Sport announced that the prize money "will be donated by the organizers to a medical center dedicated to the fight against COVID-19."