What happened at the Volta ao Algarve is grotesque and risky: at least 80% of the riders traveled on a parallel avenue to the finish line. On this occasion, Filippo Ganna demonstrated remarkable clarity, even though his effort proved useless in light of the stage's cancellation.

This is not the first time, and probably not the last, that the main protagonists have taken the wrong road near the finish. Fiorenzo Magni lost a Giro di Lombardia because a traffic policeman diverted him to the wrong side instead of the section connected to the gate of the Vigorelli Velodrome.

There have been remarkable cases in amateur races. It's the year 1992, in Cinisello Balsamo, the classic Coppa Negrini for first and second series amateurs, now known as elite and under 23, is being held. The author of this text is the official voice of the event. In the finale, the Bergamo rider Marco Serpellini of Mecair breaks away. The athlete is in top form and, thanks to the perfect team play of Ferrario and other teammates, gains a significant advantage. About a kilometer from the conclusion, a traffic policeman gives some indications to Serpellini and the vehicles preceding him. Essentially, due to a misunderstanding, cars, motorcycles, and the rider start an unplanned route instead of going directly to the finish straight. When the group arrives at the same point, with Mecair and Coalca jerseys in the leading positions, everything proceeds regularly. At the finish line, everything is ready, everyone is looking down the straight when a horn sound shakes those present. It's the car anticipating Serpellini, followed by the rider crossing the finish line with arms raised. The problem is that the Mecair standard-bearer is traveling in the wrong direction. The Bergamo rider, who two years earlier had won the Junior World Championship, crosses the finish line in the opposite direction (!?) amid embarrassment and astonishment from those present. Shortly after, the group arrives in the correct direction, and Ferrario, also from Mecair, wins the sprint thinking he is second in the order of arrival. Instead, he is the winner. As everyone knows, Serpellini later achieved significant satisfactions as a professional.

On another occasion in Rho, the Coppa Molteni is taking place, a classic event for first and second series amateurs. The author of this text is the commentator. In the central phase of the race, the numerous protagonists of the race organized by Velo Sport Rho cover a circuit several times, including Cucciago, Asnago, and other climbs in the Cantù area. Then they return to Rho. Unfortunately, near Lainate, a road accident blocks the street. The organizers skillfully divert the protagonists onto other roads, and the compact group approaches Rho compactly. The car carrying the finish judge normally advances a few kilometers from the conclusion and reaches the finish line. In this circumstance, given the chaos around Lainate, the finish judge cannot reach the finish line. The riders, thanks to the route cut, arrive on the finish straight well in advance; the collaborator of Gianfranco Soncini is still setting up the photo finish.

There is the great sprint of Gianmatteo Fagnini, who raises his arms in victory, and Learco Filippini also places among the first. The problem is that no judge records the order of arrival. There are no photos, not even images. And the photo finish is not working. The result cannot be validated (primarily due to the absence of the jury), and the race is canceled. Velo Sport Rho, demonstrating sportsmanship, reorganizes the Coppa Molteni in the same year. Fagnini later became a good professional sprinter and a formidable lead-out for King Lion Cipollini and Erik Zabel.

"The last shall be first," says an old saying. Yes, provided the first ones take the wrong road. Still on the topic of "first and second series," it happens in 1977 at the Trofeo Tameni, in Gavardo (Brescia), that competitor Giorgio Rossetti loses contact with the group a few kilometers from the finish. However, the group takes the wrong road, and the Brescia rider Rossetti, who perhaps due to a mechanical incident or other difficulties had shown difficulties, takes the correct route. The (non-) delayed Rossetti crosses the finish line first and is declared the winner. The entire group is disqualified for changing the route. In reality, the race will then be canceled. In the recovery of the Trofeo Tameni, sprinter Sigurotti prevails.