Arvid de Kleijn wins Stage 1 of 4 Days of Dunkirk after Sam Welsford relegated due to crash controversy
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Updated 03/05/2022 at 15:30 GMT
There was late drama at the opening stage of the 4 Days of Dunkerque, with Sam Welsford initially being declared the winner. However there was an almost immediate check by race officials after Australian appeared to catch Arnaud de Lie with his elbow close to the finish, costing him what looked to be a likely victory.
'Nobody likes to see that!' - Big crash at finish line of 4 days of Dunkirk Stage 1
Sam Welsford was relegated from the 4 Days of Dunkerque after his involvement in a dramatic late crash in northern France, with Arvid de Kleijn awarded the win.
Australian Team DSM rider Weslford had appeared to be the winner as he was the first to cross the finish line with a time of 3:31:14, but given the controversial circumstances there was almost immediately a discussion over who would be awarded the final result.
The judges then considered events before awarding Dutchman De Kleijn (Human Powered Health) the victory.
Before the incident, 20-year-old Belgian cyclist Arnaud de Lie (Lotto-Soudal) had appeared set to come through with superior pace, but Welsford looked to use his elbow to hold off his challenger, which prompted De Lie and Daniel McLay (Arkéa–Samsic) to crash out.
With a tough late bend causing problems, Welsford may point to difficult circumstances but he is for now out of the running.
Second place went to Jason Tesson (St Michel-Auber 93) and the final podium place to Nils Eekhoff (Team DSM). De Lie recovered to seventh.
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement