'It's just three guys calling the shots' - Storer on the truth behind Giro stage 15 neutralisation

Speaking on the Domestique Hotseat podcast, the Tudor Pro Cycling rider said the call was effectively made by a small group of GC contenders rather than the bunch as a whole.

Storer, who finished seventh overall at the Giro, was part of the peloton on the 157 km stage from Voghera to Milan on 24 May.

GC times were taken at the bell for the final lap after Jonas Vingegaard, Filippo Ganna and Giulio Ciccone raised safety concerns with race officials. The finishing circuit featured cobbles, street furniture and rails on narrow city roads, creating a tense final hour.

Fredrik Dversnes of Uno-X Mobility eventually won from the breakaway after the sprint teams mistimed their chase.

According to Storer, most riders were only informed of the decision after it had already been made.

"It was stage 15, Milan, I think it was stage 15. And it's not a group decision when that happens," he said. "I just got communicated the information through the radio, like after the fact. I think it was only those who went back to the car who made the decision."

The Australian was clear about the gap between how the day was framed in the press and what actually happened on the road.

"So I think it's not correct to say it's a peloton decision or group decision, because actually it's just three guys calling the shots on behalf of everyone," stated the Aussie.

Storer acknowledged that reaching a genuine consensus during a race is almost impossible.

"You can't really, at 50 kilometres per hour, take votes from everyone in the group and go around and discuss it."

On the substantive question of whether the neutralisation of stage 15 of the 2026 Giro d'Italia was the right call, Storer was less certain.

The Australian also took up the broader argument that sprinters routinely risk their safety on mountain descents to make the time cut without any equivalent neutralisation.

"It's a hard one to make the choice, because it just depends on what direction you want to take the sport. On one side, it's more sort of natural for racing and the sport if you don't neutralise anything. You take the GC time at the finish line."

“But at the same time, if you don’t do that, all the GC teams need to be there,” Storer said. “Everyone is pushing to the finish.”

That creates additional congestion at the front, particularly as the race approaches a sprint finish.

“You have climbers and GC teams who are not there for the sprint at all, fighting for position,” he said. “That also increases the risk for the sprint teams.”

For Storer, the impact on the quality of the race is another important consideration.

"And then for the race, it's not good when they lose GC contenders, like losing Adam Yates was not good for the race in my opinion. And if they lost other riders, especially in the top five, then it would have been a lot less interesting in the GC battle and in the mountains. So it's a hard one to make the choice, like where do you draw the line on where you go: this is where we prioritise safety instead of racing."

Listen to the full Hotseat podcast with Michael Storer 👇