Riders’ safety protest delays start of Giro di Lombardia in Bergamo

Riders at the Giro di Lombardia in Bergamo, Italy, staged a protest on 10 October 2026 that delayed the race start for five minutes as they sought to draw attention to safety concerns after a series of incidents.

Organisers completed a countdown and a starting flag was waved, but the peloton remained stationary, prompting confusion among spectators in Bergamo. Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel addressed the crowd, saying "there's too many incidents happening with vehicles in the race" and referencing the death of British cyclist Fin Tarling, who died in a collision with a vehicle at the Volta a Portugal in August. "Unfortunately we lost the life of a brother and of a colleague of us, so we want to make this statement to show to the world that we cannot keep accepting the fact that guys are getting injured or literally dying in what we like the most to do," added double Olympic champion Evenepoel. After five minutes a second starting flag was waved and the riders set off for Como.

The Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA), the union representing professional cyclists, issued a statement that was re-posted on Instagram by riders including Evenepoel and Great Britain’s Tom Pidcock, external, saying: "This week alone, there were multiple incidents of vehicles on race courses." The CPA added: "This summer, a life was tragically lost to exactly this kind of failure. We will not stand for this any longer."

In its statement the CPA called on cycling’s governing body, the UCI, to help ensure race organisers "take responsibility" and "act" to improve safety standards. It also warned: "Riders race at high speed with little protection, and we depend on the UCI and race organisers to secure the roads. That responsibility is not being met."

The union emphasised the riders’ intention behind the action, saying: "We did not want to affect the race, only to show what riders can do when we stand as one. "We love this sport. We respect the race organisers. We want to race hard and put on a show for our fans. However most importantly we want to come home safe to our loved ones." Earlier this week Thomas Gloag and Marcel Camprubi were struck by a police motorcycle travelling in the opposite direction during the Tre Valli Varesine race.

The Giro di Lombardia is the last of the season's five Monuments, a group of long-standing one-day races. It has been won by Tadej Pogacar for the past five years but the Slovenian is not present at the race after sustaining a season-ending injury at the Vuelta a Espana; the event is also the penultimate race on this year's UCI World Tour calendar.