Danny van Poppel once more performed an enormous position in serving to Sam Welsford win the degree 2 dash on the Excursion Down Below however the Dutch lead-out guy used to be quickly relegated and given a yellow card by means of UCI race officers for ‘blockading’ Tobias Lund Andresen, who used to be sprinting alongside the boundaries in Welsford’s slipstreams.
The overhead helicopter photos of the dash in Tanunda confirmed how Van Poppel led out Welsford prior to shifting off the centre of the street. He then seemed again at Welsford and his competitors and edged again in opposition to the boundaries, final the door on Lund Andresen and everybody in the back of him.
Lund Andresen waved his arm in protest however his Picnic-PostNL group merely prompt ‘the distance squeezed in entrance of him.” Bahrain Victorious were equally diplomatic after Phil Bauhaus was affected by the move and waved his arm in frustration, suggesting that their sprinter was simply “boxed in right through the finale.”
Some considered Van Poppel’s a clever and experienced move, part of the ‘art of sprinting’. Others took to social media to describe it as ‘dirty’ and unsporting.
The UCI stuck to the rule book and deemed that Van Poppel’s move was a ‘deviation from the chosen line that obstructs and endangers another rider.’
He was hit with a 500 Swiss Franc fine and relegated to 118th on the stage, the last position in his group. He lost points he scored in the mountains and points competition, and was also formally given a yellow card as per the new UCI rules, implemented for 2025.
If a rider gets two yellow cards during the same race, they can be disqualified and suspended for seven days. Three cards in 30 days earn a rider or directeur sportif a 14-day suspension. Six cards over a 52-week rolling period can result in a 30-day suspension.
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Van Poppel’s move sparked fresh debate about sprinting and safety. Some believed he should have been disqualified or that Welsford and their Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team should have somehow been penalised for Van Poppel’s actions.
Welsford arguably benefited from Van Poppel’s transfer to hinder and so endanger some other rider. However the brand new UCI yellow card punishment way Van Poppel can not take a look at a an identical transfer in the remainder phases of the Excursion Down Below or within the weeks to come back.
