Several riders crashed as a result of deep water flooding the course at the conclusion of stage 2 at the Vuelta al Tachira in Ciudad Bolivia, Venezuela on Monday. Race organisers have faced criticism on social for routing the event through dangerous conditions.
"It is supremely irresponsible to authorize a route in such poor condition, there is not a single kilometer of the roads in Venezuela that is free of a pothole, hole, edge failure or landslide; the result in sight, half rains and becomes a deadly trap," wrote one commenter on Twitter after race organisers posted video footage of the incident.
Organisers of the Vuelta al Tachira are hosting the 57th edition of the eight-day UCI 2.2-level event that is held from January 16-23. The second stage was a 149.9k race from Hacienda Los Almendros to Ciudad Bolivia.
The race finished with three local 6km circuits in Ciudad Bolivia. However, large pools of water covered the streets after heavy rainfall and made it impossible for the peloton to see any water-filled potholes along the route. Tuttobiciweb has reported that while there were no serious injuries, it damage could have been worse.
Dušan Rajović (Team Corratec) won stage 2 and is now now leading the overall classification.
It's not the first time high water has affected a UCI race: the 2019 World Championships in Yorkshire saw heavy flooding during the elite men's road race and in the under-23 men's time trial, where Hungarian Attila Valter and Denmark’s Johan Price-Pejtersen both suffered spectacular crashes in a section of deep water.
