Movistar apologises for events of Vuelta a España stage 19: We were not trying to take advantage of our rivals' crash
Sep 14 2019 05:25 am CET
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Movistar Team has issued an apology on social media for the behaviour that it showed during the 19th stage of the Vuelta a España.
The Spanish team launched an attack just after half of the peloton was on the ground due to a massive crash at 60 kilometres from the finish line. It managed to create a gap with the other half of the pack that included other GC contenders like Primoz Roglic, Miguel Ángel López and Tadej Pogacar, but moments later it slowed down and got confronted and Alejandro Valverde got confronted by other riders like Omar Fraile.
Just after this episode, the Sports Director of Movistar José Luis Arrieta accused the UCI of giving the order of drafting the stray riders back to the peloton and that it was the reason for slowing down. Riders of other teams like López showed their anger with the move of the Spanish team at the end of the stage.
Hours after, the Spanish team has decided to issue a short apology for this incident through its social media channels. "Movistar Team would like to apologise for the events that happened during today's stage of La Vuelta," said the words on social media. "Our way of proceeding followed exclusively the strategy we had outlined before the race and was in no way a try of taking advantage of our rivals' crash.
"We wish that events like those which happened in the race today help us reach, for the benefit of all, a sole set of criteria, both for teams and race commissaries, on how to proceed when such situations arise."
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