Katusha has thrown its own rider Alexey Tsatevich off the Giro for this drafting in yesterday’s stage 9 TT. But it also appears to have hung him out to dry.
Team Katusha has thrown its own rider Alexey Tsatevich off the Giro d’Italia, saying the fine the commissaires handed down for his drafting in Sunday’s stage 9 time trial (TT) was too lenient.
And not content with putting him off the race and issuing a statement about it, the team has even gone to the trouble of obtaining a screen grab from the TV coverage of the stage showing Tsatevich drafting.
He was seen sitting behind Giant-Alpecin’s Tobias Ludvigsson for a prolonged stretch after the Swede had caught and passed the Russian sprinter during the 40.5km TT.
The team’s expulsion of its own rider, who was in with a chance of winning a stage on the race, comes after its general classification hope Ilnur Zakarin crashed twice and also needed a change of bike in the TT and so missed his chance to jumped from 2nd overall into the race lead.
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The 26-year-old homeward bound Tsatevich had won a stage in the Volta a Catalunya earlier this year and though he was fined 100 Swiss Francs and given a 6:48 time penalty for drafting yesterday his team has sent him home.
Sports director Dmitry Konyshev said the official penalty was not enough for such poor and unacceptable behaviour.
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“First of all, on behalf of Team Katusha, I would like to apologise for Alexey Tsatevich’s behaviour during the time trial,” said Konyshev in a press statement that also included the image of the rider drafting, above.
“The way Tsatevich rode yesterday’s stage was absolutely unacceptable. First of all, he broke the clear rule, known by every professional rider.
“In addition, he also showed a great lack of respect for his rival, the rider who caught him on the course.
“Moreover, he absolutely ignored the team plan for the day, provided and requested by the sports director.
“His behaviour has a huge and negative impact on the image of cycling in general and Team KATUSHA in particular.
“Accepting the commissaires penalty was not enough for us; we had to take more severe measures.
"It is not easy to enter the second week of the race with just 8 riders, but I am convinced we’ve made the right decision.”
What do you think yourself? Has Katusha acted responsibly or hung the rider out to dry?
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