Rider safety has been a major topic in the sport since the serious accidents at the Tour de Pollogne, Criterium du Dauphiné, and Ile Lombardia.

Several riders publicly complained in the aftermath of the second stage in Belgium (open in new tab), where Greg Van Avermaat (open in new tab) crashed in a pothole and damaged his bike.

The riders of the Detunink-Quick Step were the most vocal on social media, with four of the seven riders highlighting the treacherous conditions on the 172-km stage from Flasnes-les-Anvers to Vavre.

The main concern was the poor road surface, with roadside bollards noted in the last few kilometers.

"There was one point in particular today. The road was incredibly potholed and very unbikeable. A lot of riders crashed and some broke their bikes.

"The finish straight was also incredibly dangerous. There were barriers set up in the last 300-500 meters, and if you were riding from the public roads, you'd fly right into them. There was also a pole early on that said "No Parking." We were driving on the left side of the road, and we were going in and out of those poles."

Morkov said there are no plans for riders to protest during the remaining stages of the Tour de Wallonie, and there has been no talk of raising the issue with the UCI or the CPA riders' association.

Nevertheless, many riders expressed their displeasure along with the Danes.

"The Tour de Wallonie organization has been given a red card," teammate Florian Seneschal, who finished fifth in the stage, wrote on Twitter.

"The circuit is too dangerous for a sprint finish, the road conditions are poor and there are too many traps on the side of the road. Being safe for the riders is not a priority."

Team Indian on Twitter wrote: "Too dangerous a circuit for a sprint finish, poor road conditions, too many traps on the side of the road.

Luke Lowe of Team Ineos (open in new tab) responded: "Amen. Today's track sucks."

Iljo Cayce posted what appeared to be a generic photo of a road littered with pot holes, not the race route, with the caption: "Tried to avoid pot holes in the road during today's stage = Mission Impossible."

Michael Morkoff added: "I'm sorry." And like all safety issues and crashes, the UCI is certainly not responsible for anything #greatfederationwehave."

Meanwhile, Stein Steels highlighted the bollards that lined the road on the run-in to the finish straight in Vavre. The peloton ran on the left and many had to swerve to dodge them.

"The richest man in Wallonie: a manufacturer of plastic poles," wrote Steels, "and the poorest man in Wallonie: the head of road construction. What the heck.

Players other than Deceuninck Quickstep joined in, with Jetze Bol and Thomas de Gendt exchanging tweets. "In Walloon today, there was sometimes asphalt between the holes: 'And sometimes they fill the cracks with concrete slabs.'" Boll added: "There is still a lot to fill."

Marcel Sieberg of Bahrain McLaren and Sam Bennett of Detunink Quickstep (open in new tab) also retweeted some messages.

The complaints have caused a number of safety issues since the season restart. On Sunday, the Criterium du Dauphiné invalidated the start of the final stage in protest of the previous stage's poor road surface downhill (opens in new tab).

In the Tour de Pollogne, Fabio Jacobsen suffered life-threatening injuries when he crashed into a collapsed barrier in a downhill sprint that had previously been considered too dangerous.

At Il Lombardia on Saturday, Remco Evenpole suffered a horrific crash (opens in new tab) and went over a bridge and into a ravine on the Solmano downhill, where several riders have crashed in the past and been seriously injured.