Two riders have been disqualified from the Tour of Flanders after a nasty brake checking and barging incident on the front of the bunch.
The dispute was between Yevgeniy Fedorov (Astana) and Otto Vergaerde (Alpecin
Fenix), who clashed early in the race on the front of the peloton.
Fedorov was making efforts to get off the front and when
he was chased down he appeared to brake check Vergaerde just behind him.
Vergaerde then responded by shouldering the Astana rider,
who then tried to make a move back at him as the riders behind the arguing duo
could be seem protesting at their actions.
The incident was captured very clearly on the TV coverage and both riders were disqualified and pulled out of the race with about 240km to race.
Related News
1. Fedorov does a completely unnecessary brake check.
2. Vergaerde intemidates Fedorov
3. Fedorov fueled by adrenaline intents to do the same.
Based on the rules, both can be DSQ'd. #RVV2021 pic.twitter.com/zB3Tks0u8E— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) April 4, 2021
Alpecin-Fenix’s manager Christophe Roodhoft claimed in an
interview with Sporza that Fedorov had started the incident.
“He intended to crash Otto and Lukas Pöstlberger. Otto responded. He had both hands on the bars, but unfortunately, he has reacted on impulse.”
Astana said it was disappointed Fedorov was out of the race, adding it would make a more substantive comment after the race when it had properly reviewed the incident.
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