Both Sam Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe) and Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jayco AlUla) have been sanctioned by commissaires for their roles in a very sketchy sprint finish to stage 3 of Critérium du Dauphiné.
Bennett and Groenewegen were 2nd and 3rd on the stage - behind winner and race leader Christophe Laporte (Jumbo Visma) - but both riders were judged to have deviated from their line during the sprint in a manner that resulted in them being sanctioned.
Bennett moved to his right to close the door on Groenewegen, with the Dutch rider responding by hitting the brakes and trying to come around Bennett to his left. However, as Groenewegen moved in the sprint he bounced off Matevž Govekar (Bahrain-Victorious), with the Slovenian rider also moments earlier being impeded by Bennett's move.
Indeed, Govekar almost crashed in the sprint after all the movement, at speed and with very little space on the road. Thankfully, there were no crashes in the final sprint and Bennett and Groenewegen also remain in the race and so can continue to build their form towards the Tour de France.
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The two riders were relegated from 2nd and 3rd to the back of the group sprinting for victory at the end of stage 3 today. They are officially registered as having finished 33rd and 34th.
As a result of their relegation, Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates) moves up to 2nd place on the stage while Milan Menten (Lotto Dstny) moves to two places to 3rd.
More to come.
