Once again a protest demonstration puts cyclists' safety at risk. It happened approximately 30 km from the finish line of the Ronde van Brugge in a section of pavé with the peloton racing at full speed.
Activist Wouter Mouton - well known in Belgium for his incursions during sporting events to the point that the race commentator let slip an "it's him again" - sat down in the middle of the road, the race motorcycles suddenly stopped to try to move him and Molano was unable to avoid the impact, crashing to the ground.
Mouton was detained for the next 12 hours and the Golazo organizers announced they would file a complaint against him. The file concerning the protester could reach the prosecutor's desk as early as tomorrow and lead to a summary trial.
UAE Emirates XRG could also face charges, with Fabio Baldato explaining: "Molano himself initially didn't understand what had happened: suddenly, a motorcycle stopped on the course and he crashed to the ground. Only after the race did we understand what happened, also because the police came to take our statement after the race. Molano crashed heavily and has back pain. But Julius Johansen also crashed: we hope they haven't suffered anything serious. A complaint? We'll discuss it with our management, but what matters is that similar incidents don't happen again".