David Lappartient's statements about a possible reform of the length of the Giro and Vuelta have not gone unnoticed in Spain... As a reminder, the UCI president told the Italian daily La Stampa that the format of the Giro and Vuelta could be reduced to 17 days, specifying that such a decision would be taken jointly with the organisers. This hypothesis is certainly not really to the liking of Javier Guillen, the director of the Vuelta. He explained to EFE spanish news agency that " it would be an error to take away days from the race. It would cut down on the level of media exposure and would reduce the possibility of increasing the support from the sponsors that back this sport"

A view shared by the president of the Spanish Federation, José Luis López Cerrón:"Neither the Vuelta nor the Giro should be devalued because they are monuments of this sport and they must be defended. I think we shouldn't touch the three Grand Tours in terms of the number of days of competition. ASO, as organizer of the Tour and Vuelta, and RCS, organizer of the Giro, will have to decide".

Luis Angel Maté tweeted to express his sadness: "Shortening the Vuelta or the Giro d' Italia is an aberration", explained the rider of the team Cofidis.

The advocates of such a reform will obviously have to embark on a major demining operation if they hope to convince the cycling community...





