Published May 17, 2009 08:47AM
Times taken from the ninth stage of the Tour of Italy will not count towards the race’s general classification following a protest from the peloton on Sunday, officials said.
The 165km ninth stage is being held on a 11km circuit inner city circuit, but after riding at the relatively slow speed of 33kph (20.5 mph), the bunch stopped six laps from the finish to protest at unsatisfactory security measures.
Race leader Danilo Di Luca of the LPR team read out a statement, apologizing to the public for their action but explaining the riders were unsatisfied with security measures on the stage.
The peloton resumed riding minutes later but continued at the same, slow pace, for several laps until three laps to go, when they began to pick up the pace.
Monday is a rest day on the race meaning Di Luca, the 2007 champion, will go into Tuesday’s 10th stage, a 262km ride in the Italian Alps from Cuneo to Pinerolo, with his 13-second lead on Sweden’s Thomas Lovkvist intact.