Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) had already won four stages of this year's Tour de France before the riders set off on stage 18 today. And the Belgian rider clearly badly wanted a fifth victory today judging by the unusual manner of his riding.
When Pascal Eenkhoorn (Lotto-Dstny) attacked with about 80km to go, in a bid to bridge across to a three-man breakaway just ahead of the bunch, Philipsen opted for quite robust riding to try and stop him.
He went after the Dutch rider and did his best to physically block and intimidate him into abandoning his attack, which he did initially, though he went again and managed to bridge across to the group.
Many cycling fans vented their disgust at Philipsen - who stepped over the line in some people's eyes - by trying to bully a rival out of an attack so the breakaway would not get any bigger.
Advertisement
Related News
Philipsen and his team were clearly keen to ensure only a small breakaway group should be allowed to form. But they kept them at such a small gap - so they could be easily reeled in and a bunch sprint set up - lots of other riders tried to jump across the modest gap.
However, while it is common for teams to sit on the front of a bunch and seek to block the road to prevent attacks, going after an attacking rider and trying to physically bully him is not something we see too often.
The breakaway somehow managed to hold off the bunch today, with Kasper Asgreen (Soudal QuickStep) winning the stage from Eenkhoorn.
