Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin Fenix) may have won his first race of the season - stage 1 of UAE Tour - today but the young Belgian's perfect start to the new campaign was not without controversy.
It looked for a moment like Dylan Groenewegen (BikeExchange-Jayco) was the fastest rider as the sprint cranked up, but as the Dutch rider attempted to pass Philipsen on the inside, the eventual stage winner moved to his right.
That forced Groenewegen to back off and he then tried to pass Philipsen on the other side, though ran out of time and had to settle for 4th place; Philipsen winning from Sam Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe) and Elia Viviani (Ineos Grenadiers).
Groenewegen wasn't slow in showing his annoyance at Philipsen, gesticulating in protest as he crossed the line. The Dutch rider's frustration was, no doubt, added to as he was suspended from racing for nine months after he pulled a similar moved at Tour de Pologne in 2020.
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On that occasion, his movement in the final sprint - closing the door on Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) - caused a devastating crash, with the crash barriers failing and turning into projectiles that flew through the air and into the peloton.
Last week at Tour of Oman Maximiliano Richeze (UAE Team Emirates) was also relegated in the result after he made a very slight movement to his right and impeded Mark Cavendish (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) in the sprint for victory on the final day. Richeze's team mate Fernando Gaviria won the stage.
