🎥 Ethan Hayter has a dig at the camera motorbike at the Vuelta a España

Ethan Hayter was once again very active in the eleventh stage of the Vuelta a España. The British rider from Soudal Quick-Step was part of a breakaway group on two occasions, but the breakaway’s lead never exceeded one minute all day. Hayter did have a hunch as to why that was.

Hayter was part of a breakaway group from nearly the start, along with Domen Novak (UAE Emirates XRG), Alessandro Covi (Jayco AlUla), and Sinuhé Fernandez (Burgos Burpellet BH). However, they were caught 80 kilometers from the finish line because the wind had caused the peloton to split.

Once the situation was back under control and the sprinter teams had taken the lead again, Hayter made another move. This time, Larry Warbasse of Tudor went with him. However, the situation didn’t look much better, with the wind still blowing in the open sections and Visma | Lease a Bike and Cofidis keeping everything tightly under control.

Hayter had noticed the differences as well, and the Brit couldn’t resist taking a dig at the cameraman, who was riding diagonally behind him. “You’re always in front of the peloton, or behind the breakaway,” he said, implying that the camera bikes are once again giving the peloton a significant advantage in this Vuelta a España by riding a short distance ahead of the pack.

Riders have been reacting to motorbikes all season. Carlos Rodríguez crashed on the final descent of the Tour de Romandie’s penultimate stage while in the first chase group, dropping from sixth to twelfth overall.

He said a motorbike braked in his racing line during a high-speed descent, causing the crash; he reported no serious injuries. INEOS Grenadiers’ Daryl Impey said they reached him late and that he had the form to finish in the top five.

Motorbike conduct was a broader issue during the race, with riders including Valentin Paret-Peintre criticising bikes for staying too close to the peloton, and expressing cynicism after Tadej Pogačar won the stage. Read more