MILAN — Lance Armstrong already has a tenuous relationship with Tour de France organizers. Now his rapport with the Giro d’Italia appears at risk, too.
Armstrong played an integral role Sunday in a protest by riders over concerns about the safety of the ninth stage of the Giro. As a result, all 190 riders were given the same time as winner Mark Cavendish.
“We saw in the first lap that the course wasn’t safe,” overall leader Danilo Di Luca said. “There were cars parked in the middle of the road, traffic islands and tram lines. We asked the organizers to annul the times, and we’re happy that they granted our request.”
Several riders acknowledged Armstrong had a hand in organizing the protest, and race director Angelo Zomegnan was livid.
“This circuit required explosive bursts. It required riders to get their butts up off the seats of their bikes, and some riders who are not so young anymore apparently don’t feel like doing that,” Zomegnan said. “Instead, it seems like their legs have become shorter and their tongues longer.”
Asked by The Associated Press if he was referring to Armstrong, 37, Zomegnan replied, “I never name people who have disappointed me, just like I don’t name girlfriends that have snubbed me.”
Cavendish clocked 4 hours, 16 minutes, 13 seconds over the 102.5-mile leg. Allan Davis crossed second, and Tyler Farrar was third.
Di Luca holds a 13-second lead over Thomas Lovkvist in the overall standings, with Michael Rogers third, 44 seconds back, and Armstrong’s Astana teammate Levi Leip- heimer at fourth, 51 seconds behind. Armstrong is 25th overall.
Armstrong has acknowledged that RCS Sport is paying him a significant sum to race the Giro for the first time, and until the Texan began criticizing several stage finishes as overly dangerous a few days ago, Zomegnan and the RCS-controlled Gazzetta dello Sport were his biggest cheerleaders.
Armstrong is also leading a protest against his Astana team, which has not paid its riders for two months.
Armstrong said the group was “livid” with the lengthy seventh stage Friday that concluded with a dangerous and steep descent through the rain.
The mood of the group grew even more cautious after Spanish rider Pedro Horillo Muñoz ended up in a coma after falling 60 yards off the side of the road on a downhill stretch Saturday.
Horillo Muñoz was awakened from his 24-hour coma Sunday. He was able to move his legs and speak with doctors at a hospital in Bergamo, race organizers said.
