James Knox has vented his frustration at traveling all the way to Australia for the Santos Tour Down Under only to be disqualified on stage 1. The British Soudal-QuickStep rider said he had been singled out in not being allowed to draft team cars to get back to the bunch after a heavy crash. He was then thrown off the race when he was spotted taking a draft from cars far behind the cavalcade.
Knox explained he was delayed because he had stopped for a roadside concussion check. He believed if riders were penalised for waiting for the doctor on the roadside, they would simply skip the concussion tests in favour of getting back on their bikes, sounding very frustrated in his remarks.
Other experienced pro riders - including Luke Rowe and Oliver Naesen - have sprung to his defence, criticising his disqualification and saying it set a very danger precedent at a time when pro cycling was trying to up its game with roadside concussion checks. Naesen described the treatment of Knox as "a joke".
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"Proper (concussion) examining takes some time," the AG2R Citroën Team rider said. "When given a green light to start again, you should at least be allowed to be brought back to the last group by drafting, and without hanging on the car obviously."
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He told Knox it was "a shame" he had been disqualified, especially having traveled to the "other side of the world" for a six-stage race and before he had completed even one road stage.
Rowe (Ineos Grenadiers) believed the message the UCI was sending out with Knox's disqualification was "very dangerous". He said the UCI was effectively telling riders "if you crash get straight back on your bike without getting checked out, otherwise you're potentially out the race". Instead, it should be acting in a manner that encouraged riders to "get checked out properly, do the protocols, then receive aid to get back to the peloton".
Knox vented his frustration in social media posts, showing his ripped race clothing and his damaged helmet due to the crash with about 55km to go on yesterday's opening road stage. He said he remained stopped by the roadside to be properly checked out by the doctor, including for concussion, which took some time. When he got going again, he realised his handlebars were broken, meaning he was forced to stop and change bikes, delaying him further.
At that point, he had fallen far behind the peloton and was trying to get back to the bunch, or into a group, so he could make it to the finish. However, the commissaire would not allow him to draft, despite the fact he could see other crashed riders ahead drafting off vehicles.
While Knox initially stopped drafting, he later got in behind some soigneurs' cars, which were behind the cavalcade after moving off again following a food zone stop. But he was spotted taking those drafts and disqualified from the race.
"I watched from behind as other crashed riders were allowed to stay behind their cars to rejoin the race, as you would expect. I have to accept my own responsibility for the mistakes I made after this," Knox wrote.
"On my own with no information given about time gaps or time cuts I took some draft from a couple of soigneur cars, who were leaving the final feed, for a few kilometres. I was seen doing so and disqualified for this. It seems clear to me if cycling is going to take serious steps in maintaining rider welfare, commissaires should not punish riders for staying behind after a crash to be properly evaluated.
"The actions they took in the aftermath of the crash clearly demonstrated to me that I would have been better off immediately remounting without undergoing a proper examination. The rules for returning to the convoy are very tricky but I feel like this was a clear-cut example that I wasn't trying to use the cars for an advantage, nor would I have been in that situation without crashing."
