Arnaud Demare, and all of France, was delighted with his win in Milan Sanremo but has been accused of towing from a team car. The pressure around him is really building now after his Strava file showed he climbed the Cipressa faster than anybody else in the race.
Having already faced allegations from fellow riders that he took a lengthy tow from a team vehicle when he crashed in the final of Milan Sanremo, the pressure on Arnaud Demare appears to be intensifying.
His Strava file for his winning ride in the race had been taken off the site, but reappeared on Sunday afternoon - you can find it by following this link.
The big sprinter climbed the Cipressa, with just under 30km remaining, quicker that those who were on the attack; a fact that will only add to the growing controversy around Demare’s victory.
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For example, Strava shows that Giovanni Visconti (Movistar) was attacking off the front for a 1.7km section of the Cipressa but that Demare was seven seconds faster on that section.
The French victor was a full 4km per hour - and almost 20 seconds on that section - faster than the peloton and took the Strava KOH title.
He has been accused of taking a tow from his team car just before the climb, with some riders alleging the tow continued right onto the start of the ascent.
The French media welcomed Demare's victory with open arms, but his win is now being openly questioned.
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Demare came down in the same crash as Sam Bennett (Bora-Argon 18), Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEDGE), Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) around 2-3km from the point where the Cipressa began.
However, he got back on and won, but with some of those other riders in the race saying he took a long tow that continued onto the climb.
Italians Matteo Tosatto (Tinkoff) and Eros Capechi (Astana) have both publicly accused Demare of taking a tow off a team car.
The allegations from Tosatto, who was working for Peter Sagan in the race, were strongly put.
“Demare was off the back before the Cipressa,” he said. “Then on the climb he passed us going twice our speed. I didn’t see if he was on the car window or with a (sticky) bottle.
“Of course he was strong in the sprint but without that tow he would never have made it to contest the sprint. I’ve never seen a thing like that done so shamelessly.”
“I was on Tosatto’s wheel and saw it very clearly. Demare was hanging onto the right of the team car. It’s disgusting!”
Tosatto’s comments added weight to the allegations.
“I wasn’t alone at moment, there were other riders with me and I think they saw what happened pretty well,” he told the media at the finish line.
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