The video in this piece has emerged and it shows two AG2R-La Mondiale riders towing - pulling out of - a team car for a prolonged period on a Vuelta climb. The riders have now been thrown off the race. One of them, Alexandre Geniez, was fined 200 Swiss Francs on the Giro after an altercation with Hubert Dupont, above.

AG2R-La Mondiale riders towing off Vuelta team car

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AG2R-La Mondiale has taken two of its riders out of the Vuelta after they took a tow off a team car.

Footage of two of the team’s riders pulling out of a car for a prolong distance on stage 15 emerged yesterday.

It was clear the team car and riders were from AG2R-La Mondiale. But it was not possible to determine who the riders were.

However, the team has said it was Alexandre Geniez and Nico Denz. And it has taken them out of the race.

Both finished in a large group some 26:09 down on Sunday’s queen stage of the race, when the images were recorded.

The clip, below, appears to have been recorded from inside another vehicle on the race.

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Hey @AG2RLMCyclisme, @lavuelta, @UCI_cycling, you do realise this is a bike *race*, yeah? pic.twitter.com/PKWzC9UBn1

— Scott O'Raw (@velocast) September 4, 2017

“After viewing the video footage that showed two of our riders intentionally holding onto the team car on Sunday, management of the AG2R La Mondiale team has decided to withdraw Alexandre Geniez and Nico Denz from the Vuelta a Espana,” a team statement said.

“The AG2R La Mondiale team sincerely apologises to the organisers and the public for the unsportsmanlike behaviour of our riders, which is contrary to our values and our ethics."

And Geniez has won two Vuelta stages during his career. He took to social media this morning to issue his own apology.

“I made a mistake in hanging on to the car of the sports director during," he wrote.

"AG2R-La Mondiale has decided to remove me from the Vuelta a Espana. This is difficult but I have to accept it

"I sincerely apologise to the organisers and the public. But also to my teammates for this behaviour contrary to the values of my employer.

“I had a tough start to the season. And today I just want to show on the bike that this incident does not reflect my vision of the sport.”

The team was in similar trouble in Paris-Nice earlier in the year. Romain Bardet was thrown off the race for towing from a team car.