From an organizational perspective, the current edition of the Vuelta a España is facing challenges, including during Sunday night. The cyclists arrived in Valladolid at a very late hour due to a situation where one of the two charter flights had to make a stopover in Madrid due to unfavorable weather conditions. Additionally, an additional one-hour bus trip to Valladolid was required as part of the itinerary.
Several cyclists have spoken about the incident on social media, including Romain Bardet. “After a detour, we arrived in Madrid. It’s already midnight, and we still have a few hours to go to Valladolid. This is karma, I guess. Aircraft movements in a grand tour are no longer from this era in 2023. #Timeforachange,” the Frenchman wrote.
Jetse Bol shared his account with a bit more humor: “It’s a good thing that the Vuelta has been shortened by eleven stages. We flew to Madrid. We’ll be in bed around three in the morning. If the anti-doping inspector is reading: please, not before eleven tomorrow morning.”