Warren Barguil has said he never intended to break any rules or gain an advantage for himself by sitting behind a team car during stage 1 of Paris-Nice.
The French national champion was disqualified for drafting after his crash. He got going again only to stop after a period. It looked like he would abandon but he got back on his bike and continued.
Though he finished the stage 15 minutes down and fourth last man over the line, he was disqualified. His Arkéa Samsic team said he was behind the car for a couple of kilometres.
Both the team and Barguil insisted he was regaining his composure and taking time to consider continuing or abandoning rather than trying to gain an advantage.
“I will never be put down,”
Barguil said after he was disqualified and both he and his team decided not to
appeal the decision.
Advertisement
Related News
“I accept the decision of
the commissioners to exclude me from Paris-Nice, even if it undermines all my
preparation for the start of the season.
“I didn't want to do wrong,
nor did my sports director. I was just groggy after my fall and taking shelter
behind the car was just a floating time between giving up or continuing the
race.
“I wish the best to my teammates
for the rest of this Paris-Nice,” he added of the race, in which team mate and
general classification favourite Nairo Quintana could have done with Barguil’s
help.
“Please no nasty messages against
the referees of our sport. They just applied the rules even if, once again,
it’s hard for me and my team.”
Topics
