Philip Deignan working his way along the tough road to Lagos de Covadonga; the same day Rodriguez punched him (Photo: Sirotti)
Philip Deignan has told of an incident with Joaquim Rodriguez which saw the top Spanish rider punch him in the face on Sunday's 152km Vuelta stage from Oviedo to Lagos de Covadonga.
The Irish man riding for Team Sky said on the penultimate climb of the day, he was riding up the ascent with team leader Chris Froome in his wheel, moving him forward onto the back of the train of Tinkoff-Saxo, who were riding for race leader Alberto Contador.
"As we hurtled along in the rain at around 50kph, Katusha's Spanish team leader Joaquin Rodriguez, who is fourth overall, took umbrage to my presence and nudged me out a little bit," Deignan wrote in his Irish Independent daily Vuelta diary.
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"So I held my ground and nudged him back," he added.
"As we continued riding, suddenly, out of the blue, Rodriguez turned towards me and punched me full in the face, splitting my lip and leaving me both stunned and fuming.
"Thankfully an immediate desire to knock the little Spanish climber out was quelled and I had the restraint and presence of mind to realise that hitting him in such treacherous conditions would only worsen the situation and endanger the riders around us."
Rodriguez leads Alejandro Valverde on yesterday's queen stage, losing time to Froome, which Deignan was particularly pleased to see (Photo: Sirotti)
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Deignan added the punch from Rodriguez was greeted with a chorus of shouts from the riders around them, with the Irish man telling the Katusha climber he would deal when him when the stage was over.
However, Deignan said while his instinct was to look for him in the hotel that evening and show him some of the skills he had picked up as a kid at Letterkenny Boxing Club, he calmed down.
And when Rodriguez apologised to him yesterday, apparently on the insistence of his team, Deignan decided to let it go.
On racing matters, Deignan said he was delighted Froome put time into the Spaniard yesterday on the queen stage; with Froome third overall and Rodriguez fourth.
The Irishman rode a lot of the stage on the front but while leading the depleted peloton with 10km remaining he got a slow puncture.
News of his incident with Rodriguez emerged on the same day Gianluca Brambilla (Omega Pharma Quickstep) and Ivan Rovny (Tinkoff Saxo) became involved in a physical fight in the breakaway and were put out of the race.
Deignan's Vuelta diary appears in the Irish Independent daily and also on the newspaper's website.
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