One-day ban for Briton after mechanic took revenge on motorbike
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New directeur sportif Sean Yates watches his riders from the road side (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Peter Sagan (Tinkoff - Saxo) takes a push after a mechanical(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Peter Sagan drives the breakaway.(Image credit: Courtesy of Polartec-Kometa)
Peter Sagan in another green jersey.(Image credit: Courtesy of Polartec-Kometa)
Peter Sagan rides in the breakaway during stage 15.(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Tinkoff-Saxo directeur sportif Sean Yates has been kicked out of the Tour de France for stage 16 after an incident in which his team mechanic Faustino Muñoz threw a water bottle at a television cameraman.
The encounter with the motorbike happened when green jersey holder Peter Sagan was swapping bikes with less than 40km to go in stage 15 to Valence.
Sagan said he was blocked from receiving assistance by the motorbike, and after he finally was given a new bike, his mechanic took revenge on the offending driver by hurling a water bottle at him.
"The video camera was there and he was shoving past me. My car was behind the motorbike, the motorbike stopped 10m from me and he blocked the car. Everyone was angry. The mechanic just threw the bottle," Sagan said to French Eurosport.
Later, Tinkoff-Saxo director Steven De Jongh complained on Twitter, "It would be nice if they also show that the motobike almost run over @petosagan And was hopeless in the way of our car! #Wehaveajobtodo".
Yates was driving the car at the time of the incident and was given the day-long ban. He will return to the race following the rest day.
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