Parijs-Nice organizers respond to strong criticism from Jonas Vingegaard

In recent years, there has been increasing discussion about the lack of safety in cycling. This became a topic again after the opening stage of Paris-Nice, following criticism from Jonas Vingegaard directed at ASO. The organizer of the French stage race felt the need to respond.

"It was stressful. Very stressful. I hope not all my race days this year will be like this. Then it won't be fun," Vingegaard expressed his displeasure after the first day of Paris-Nice to the Danish Feltet.

According to the leader of Visma | Lease a Bike, this was mainly due to the route. "I didn’t think the course was particularly good. I don’t think it’s worthy of a WorldTour race. There were poor roads, constant twists and turns, speed bumps... Especially the last descent, which we did three times, was not good enough for a WorldTour race," the two-time Tour winner said very clearly.

A day later, Vingegaard revisited these critical words. "Sometimes it feels like you’re running into a wall," he told Tuttobiciweb. "However, I feel responsible for improving the sport in certain areas. If we don’t speak up, nothing will happen. I want to position myself as the leader of the peloton—not only because of my results but also by improving safety."

No negative feedback
The Danish outlet Feltet also put the criticism to organizer ASO, but initially, they did not want to respond. A day later, they issued a brief reply. "We work closely with the CPA (the riders' union), with the three riders' representatives appointed by the CPA for Paris-Nice, and with the commission members. We have not received any negative feedback," they said.