Arnaud Demare (FDJ) can't believe he has won Milan Sanremo. And now some of his peers have insisted he took a high-speed tow off a car to get back on after the crash near the Cipressa (Photo: Sirotti)
Before the champagne corks were even popped at the coronation of Arnaud Demare (FDJ) as new Milan-Sanremo champion questions were being asked about his win.
TV images showed the French winner was caught up in the same crash as Sam Bennett (Bora-Argon 18), Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEDGE), Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) and others just before the penultimate climb of the Cipressa well into the vital last hour of racing.
Bennett never got back on and lost 12:53, for example. And while Matthews did make it back, he only briefly made contact with the back of the peloton before being dropped and eventually finishing in a chasing group 43 seconds down.
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However, Demare clearly enjoyed a smoother and faster chase back on that certainly did not take the sprint out of his legs.
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And now some of those he passed as he regained the depleted peloton after his crash have cried foul.
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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