A message from the riders: As riders, we stand united against the unnecessary risk our lives are being subjected to. This week alone, there were multiple incidents of vehicles on race courses. Two riders crashed when they hit a motorbike who was driving the wrong way on the race route. Luckily both escaped with cuts and bruises, it could have been so much worse. This summer, a life was tragically lost to exactly this kind of failure. We will not stand for this any longer. Riders race at high speed with little protection, and we depend on the race organisers to secure the roads. That responsibility is not being met. We are calling for the help of the UCI for race organisers to take accountability and act. That means a serious, open conversation between riders, race organisers and the UCI resulting in concrete changes to how race routes are secured and managed. After five minutes, we raced as normal. We did not want to affect the race, only to show what riders can do when we stand as one. We love this sport. We respect the race organisers. We want to race hard and put on a show for our fans. However most importantly we want to come home safe to our loved ones.