Just a Farce
Stage 16, from my perspective is a farce. While, I voted for adding time, to equate to that taken on the decent, the problem is that too much time has passed for that now. Further, I really don't blame the riders, in the end it is the organisers that have questions to answer.
What, in reality the situation has shows is not only poor organisation by the organisers but poor communications. I did not take a screen shot of the tweets posted by the organisers, but now deleted, but I have enough basic Italian to understand the Italian tweet and read the English tweet, both of which clearly stated that the decent was to be neutralised. Either that was the decision or not, but to publically release the information and then deny what they said reflects badly on them.
What they should have done, on the rest day, was organise for a DS from each team, standings leaders and senior riders to at least look at the descents, and have set the basis for which actions should have been taken on the day, to ensure riders safety, and then everyone could have gone into the stage knowing what was to happen. The conditions, to a point could have been predicted, which could have been factored into their considerations. It was not as if there was not snow on the sides of the passes the day before, and this at least would have provided a level of information and certainty for all, and likely avoided the problems.
Given what happened last year, of course the organisers were under pressure for the stage to occur as scheduled, but in the end, it all has to be about Riders health and safety. Lets be realistic, this is their workplace, and while employed by their teams the teams are effectively employed by the race organisers to put on the show. Creating risks outside the normal, which the conditions were, would be seen as breaches of duties owed to keep people safe. The neutralisation of the decent (whether meant to be in full or part), was a good solution, both to have the show, but protect the riders, however intentions can only be part of it. In the end it is a race, and people while having different ambitions want to win.
We should not blame the riders in this case, as much as we should not blame the riders for what happened on Stage 6. The situation, ultimately is not much different. Some of the consequences of the latter came from the fact that the organisers closed off part of the roundabout, where it should have been obvious in the early stages that by that time the peloton were going to be together at that time, thereby needing the space the whole roundabout would have given them. It is the organisers in the end that have to take a long hard look at themselves, and think about how they run their show. They not only have to think about the show, but the riders and the fans. They have, in the end, tarnished their product this year badly, despite the creation of some epic and interesting stages that will show a true all-round rider as the winner in the end.
In the end, it will be the riders who are at least from the fans perspective penalised. people will constantly debate who is the real winner of this Giro, rather than lauding the winner for everything they had done. I know after the chain-gate fiasco in the Tour of a few years ago, this happened to a point.