Cycling news - Rui Costa accused of toppling Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg at stage 2 of Saudi Tour

Updated 06/02/2020 at 12:33 GMT

Race leader Rui Costa was accused of intentionally disrupting stage 2 of the Saudi Tour on Wednesday after he appeared to nudge another rider off his bike during the closing phase.

Rui Costa (Saudi Tour)

Image credit: Getty Images

The UAE Team Emirates rider raised an arm to NTT Pro Cycling's Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg with a little over 10km to go on the flat stage, causing him to lose his balance and cause a large pile-up amongst the peloton.

The Dutch rider toppled first into his nearby teammate Enrico Gasparotto before the pair took out a cluster of riders, with Mark Cavendish one of those held up by the ensuing commotion.

"That’s not fair anyway. Hands MUST stay on handlebar," Gasparotto wrote on Twitter alongside a video of the incident.

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NTT teammate Roman Kreuziger also offered his condemnation of Costa, writing: "I think using hands is not correct, even having leader's jersey. Hope the UCI will see this video."

Rui Costa also took to Twitter to defend his action which he called a natural reaction to avoid a collision between himself and Van Rensburg, and confirmed that the pair magnanimously put the episode to bed after the race.

Massive crash in the peloton on Stage 2

"Feeling sad about the crash during the stage of my mate from NTT, which led to the accidental crash of other riders," the former world champion wrote.

"I would like to clarify that it was Van Rensberg himself who accidentally came to my side, and my gesture was to protect myself from crashing.

"After the stage, Van Rensburg came personally to our bus to clarify that this situation happened due to a teammate touching him, and his gesture is really appreciated.

"Everything is clear to both of us and I hope it's also [clear] to everybody. Thanks for all your support."

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