Does this full UCI video of U23 race incident justify Eekhoff disqualification?

The UCI has now released a video of the full incident it says Nils Eekhoff was disqualified for. Does it justify the disqualification of the Dutch rider?

The UCI has released this two-minute video saying it captures the incident involving Nils Eekhoff that resulted in his disqualification from the U23 road race at the World Championships.

The Dutch rider rode a brilliant race and won the sprint from the front group of seven yesterday in Harrogate.

However, he was soon disqualified and the incident has been a huge talking point.

Footage emerged of Eekhoff appearing to benefit from a sticky bottle incident in the cavalcade after he crashed with over 120km remaining in the race.

However, the UCI has now pinpointed what happened before that clip was recorded as the reason the Dutch cyclist was disqualified.

The clip below captures the drafting behind a team car that he engaged in and which the UCI disqualified him for.

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It shows the rider a very long way back after he had crashed. He remains on the car bumper in this clip for two minutes, passing other riders off the back at much higher speeds.

There is clear evidence that he closed a huge gap up to the cars behind the bunch at the time. And the big question is whether he would have closed a gap of that size without assistance.

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It must be said the distance was sizeable and the aid he got from his team car was very significant.

Even if he had made it back under his own resources, without drafting, the chase would have taken a lot more out of him.

And it is very doubtful if he would have had the power he needed in the latter stages of the race to win.

On the flip side, he was coming back from a crash and drafting is a very common occurrence in races, even in the pro game.

However, whatever your view on this, the UCI video does shed significant light on why he was disqualified.

But it also raises the question as to why he was disqualified only after the race, rather than during the event.

There was hours of racing remaining at the time, allowing for plenty of opportunity to remove him from the event long before he got into a race-winning position which he converted so well only for the result to be cancelled.


Full incident: Video released by UCI