Teams participating in Ruta del Sol expressed support for the organization of the event on social media. Farmer protests and “extra-sporting events” in Andalusia meant that the Spanish race was not held over five days as usual, but in just one 5km Time Trial.
Diverse teams demonstrated understanding
“We value the effort the organization made to hold the competition,” wrote the Burgos-BH team in a message on X (formerly Twitter). The Lotto Dstny team agreed: “Unfortunately today is the only race day. Thank you to the organization for all the work and effort that was made.”
Jayco AlUla also lamented the fact that there was only one Time Trial in the entire week. “But the organization has no alternative but to cancel the last two stages. A thank you to the organization, who did everything to ensure the competition continued. Let’s turn today into a beautiful time trial”, concluded the team on a positive note.
Movistar also expressed support for the organization: “Thank you to everyone who was involved until the last minute to make this race”.
In a long statement, the Ruta del Sol organization wrote that, “after endless negotiations” and “superhuman efforts”, the authorities were unable to guarantee the safety of runners in the Saturday and Sunday stages. “We would like to thank everyone for the large number of demonstrations of support and solidarity we have received these days,” said the organization.
The canceled stages of the race, initially planned to end on the weekend of February 17 and 18, 2024, are unprecedented moves in the history of the Ruta del Sol. The competition, which is normally held over five days, has been reduced to a single 5km Time Trial due to external circumstances.