During the Stage 2 Conclusion of the Vuelta al Tachira in Bolivia, Venezuela, many riders crashed and inflicted injuries due to deep water flooding. The organizers of the event now face heavy criticism for routing the event without proper knowledge and in these circumstances.
The 2022 Vuelta al Tachira is the 57th edition of the event, this is an eight-day event as is held from 16-23 January. This is also a UCI 2.2 Level event and the crash happened during the second stage of the 149.9km race, it started from Hacienda Los Almendros and ends at Ciudad Bolivia.
🚨 Asà fue, la fuerte y masiva caida que sufrieron varios ciclistas de la 57 Vuelta al Táchira 2022
En el cumplimiento de la segunda etapa, Los Almendros / Ciudad Bolivia
Julio Enrique Rangel @juliorangeljer pic.twitter.com/0VdESFOhzx
— Ciclismo Táchira 2022 (@lavueltachira) January 17, 2022
The flooding was a result of heavy rainfall, and this made it almost impossible for the riders to notice the water-filled potholes that covered the tracks in front of them. This was the responsibility of the organizers and contingency plans should have been made before the event.
Although there are no serious injuries and the worse is behind now, all of this could still have gone better. Team Corractec’s Dušan Rajović won stage 2 of the Vuelta al Tachira, he is also in the lead of the event. This flooding is not the first time in the history of UCI Races, everyone remembers the Yorkshire crashes where many riders crashed.
We hope that the rest of the UCI Races go as planned without any disturbances and disasters.
Featured Image Via YouTube/MAESTROS DEL DESASTRE