They may hold the yellow jersey in the Tour de France but one of the key management figures from Jumbo Visma won’t get to savour the last days of the race as he has been ejected from the event.
According to the official communiqué from the race, Jumbo-Visma
directeur sportif Merijn Zeeman is off the race due to an issue with a UCI
member during a bike check after yesterday’s stage 17.
Team leader and yellow jersey Primoz Roglic had enjoyed a very strong day as he dropped main GC rival Tadej Pogačar (UAE-Team Emirates) on the final climb to the finish.
Roglic put 15 seconds into his fellow Slovenian and gained two more seconds in a time bonus as he finished 2nd on the stage, with Pogacar 3rd; both behind winner Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana).
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Reactie van de UCI op de uitsluiting van Merijn Zeeman na de fietscontrole na etappe 17 van de Tour 👇 pic.twitter.com/SxNgdyIyt2
— Daan Hakkenberg (@daanhakkenberg) September 17, 2020
However, after Roglic’s team saw him battle so well up
the Col de la Loze, aided by team mate Sepp Kuss, there was a
problem backstage after the racing, and the bikes were being checked, and now
Jumbo Visma is down a directeur.
According to the communiqué, Zeeman was removed from the
race under the UCI’s article 8.2.2 for “intimidation, injuries, incorrect
behaviour, misconduct, of a team member towards a UCI member” during the bike
check after Wednesday’s stage.
The UCI carries out bike checks in order to ensure there
is not cheating with equipment, including the possibility that motors may be
hidden within bikes.
Roglic now faces tomorrow’s stage 19, some 166.5km from Bourg-en-Bresse to Champagnole, before Saturday’s crucial 36.2km TT
that includes the La Planche des Belles Filles.
Once he comes through those two stages
there follows the final procession into Paris on Sunday, when he should be
crowned the 2020 Tour champion.
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