We debate race rules, ask if Ineos have a discipline problem and discuss the effects of losing key riders
Luke Rowe (Team Ineos) was expelled after stage 17 of the Tour de France (Image credit: Getty Images)
The latest episode of the Cyclingnews podcast was going to be based around Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott) and his win on stage 17 of the Tour de France, but then Jumbo-Visma's Tony Martin and Team Ineos' Luke Rowe decided to steal the limelight by having an altercation on the final climb of the stage.
Both riders were disqualified because of the incident after Martin tried to run Rowe off the road and the Ineos rider decided to retaliate by providing Martin with a close-up inspection of his right hand. The UCI regulators didn’t take too kindly and booted both riders out of the race.
There was a joint video from Rowe and Martin in which they apologised, but unless the UCI overturns its decision – and that’s unlikely – both Team Ineos and Jumbo-Visma will start stage 18 with a man less.
On Wednesday evening, the Cyclingnews team headed straight to the Team Ineos hotel to soak up the atmosphere and try to talk with the riders and staff. The latter proved impossible, but we do debate the race rules, ask if Team Ineos have a discipline problem and discuss how the loss of two key riders effects the race going forward.
Don’t forget you can win a signed EF Education First jersey from this year’s Tour de France. To be in with a chance, just subscribe to our podcast on Itunes or Podbean. We’ll pick a winner later in the race.
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