Robert Gesink of Jumbo Visma said that in the opening stage of the Tour de France in Nice on Saturday, many riders fell, with Bahrain McLaren's Raphael Valls breaking his femur and John Degenkolb of Lotto Soudal also falling off the time limit due to a fall. Despite finishing and finishing the race, the UCI was blamed for not intervening.

"Apparently it was not a dangerous and spectacular race for the UCI. In my opinion, the crash at the end was their fault," Goethink told Dutch broadcaster NOS.

The riders' request to the UCI commissaires to intervene was apparently denied, and instead Tony Martin, Goessink's Jumbo-Visma teammate, coordinated a rider-led stage The invalidation of the stage was adjusted, the race resumed, and Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) took the stage win and his first yellow jersey in the Tour.

"It was really ridiculous," Goethink continued of the treacherous conditions. And the UCI let it go. We've seen a lot of dangerous situations in the last few weeks. This was a chance for the UCI to do the right thing by us. We can make things as difficult as we want for the next 20 days.

"All the other riders in the peloton thought it was a good thing in the end," the 34-year-old Dutch rider said of the decision to hold off on the wet downhill until the return to the flat, adding, "They thought it was too dangerous. However, on the approach to the finish of the Promenade des Anglais, Bals and French rider Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) crashed.

"It would have been a shame if we were all already riding with bandages on the first day," Gedink said, adding that it was important to go down the final descent at low speed. It was oil all over the place and really slippery. If I hadn't neutralized everything there, 20 riders would have jumped over the wall.

According to Wielerfritz, Jumbo-Visma's teammate Martín told Sporza: "It was unpredictable and slippery. "It had become unpredictable and slippery, and it was no longer safe. That's why I gave the signal.

"But the initiative to keep it safe came from several teams. Only Astana didn't listen to me at first.