The organizing committee of the Vuelta al Táchira cycling race announced this Saturday that the ninth stage of the competition has been cancelled, leaving the general classification and all other standings unchanged from Friday.
On the Vuelta al Táchira’s Instagram account, the committee explained that there was a change to the circuit for the ninth stage, “at the request of the riders,” but that during the stage, one of them crashed and the others “decided to stop.”
“The riders stopped and refused to continue. Stage 9 is cancelled. We remain as we were in stage 8, with the same leaders,” said race director José Manuel Zavala in a video.
“We are left with the same standings as in stage 8,” he added. The local news outlet ‘La Voz del Táchira’ reported on its Instagram account that the “poor condition of the roads” in the Junín municipality, in the state of Táchira (western Venezuela), led the cyclists to decide not to compete.
Thus, Venezuelan Jorge Abreu maintains his lead in the general classification, with an accumulated time of 33 hours, 39 minutes, and 55 seconds, after the eighth stage. He is followed by Diego Méndez, 2 minutes and 19 seconds behind.
The podium, for now, is completed by Venezuelan Wiston Maestre, who is 2 minutes and 46 seconds back. This Sunday, the tenth and final stage will be held, covering 99.3 kilometers between the cities of Ureña and San Cristóbal.
Overall standings:
1. Jorge Abreu (Fina Arroz CES Multimarcas) 33h39:55
2. Diego Méndez (Lotería del Táchira Servitel) at 2:19
3. Wiston Maestre (Lotería del Táchira Servitel) at 2:46
4. Brandon Rojas (GW Erco Sportfitness) at 3:17
5. Carlos Galviz (Politáchira Heidy Lee Sport TVN Norte) at 3:41
Source: EFE News Agency