Tour de France 2019 news - Luke Rowe and Tony Martin both expelled from Tour after clash
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ByEurosport
Updated 25/07/2019 at 10:02 GMT
Team Ineos' road captain Luke Rowe and Tony Martin of Jumbo-Visma have both been expelled from the 2019 Tour de France after a clash on Stage 17.
Luke Rowe and Tony Martin on Stage 17 of the Tour de France
Image credit: Eurosport
Late on in the stage, the two riders came together and Martin appeared to try to barge Rowe in an unsavoury moment.
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Watch bizarre incident that got Rowe and Martin expelled
Eurosport commentator Carlton Kirby noted that the pair could be in 'trouble' as a result of the incident, and both have now been expelled.
An emotional Rowe said following the decision:
We were both trying to do a job. Maybe we both overstepped the mark slightly, but it feels harsh to be thrown off the race. Neither of us deserve that.
Sir David Brailsford, general manager of Team Ineos, believes the verdict for the two riders is 'harsh' believing that a warning would have sufficed.
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Stage 17 highlights as Trentin cruises to victory, Martin gets angry
Brailsford told reporters: "They've decided to expel Tony and Luke from the race which feels incredibly harsh if I'm honest.
I've just had a watch of the clip, and there's no doubt that Tony cut up Luke a little bit. He's fought for his position, and there's nothing more than you see on most days of the race.
"It's a pretty harsh decision and maybe a yellow card would've been merited but a red card for both riders appears a bit severe to me."
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Tony Martin's team were on the front of the peloton when Ineos looked to move their riders up
Image credit: Getty Images
Prior to the UCI jury's decision, Rowe played down the incident and revealed that he shook hands with Martin before the stage finished.
He told reporters: "We’re both doing the same role, both doing the same job, it was nothing really. I rolled over the line with him, it’s all good, we shook hands. We just got in each other’s way.
"That’s bike racing. All good. I don’t know how many Tour de Frances you’ve ridden but it does get a bit tense at times. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to have broad shoulders and it’s no problem. We rode the last 10 kilometres of the stage talking to each other. It’s all good.”
With around 14km remaining, Rowe had tried to pass on the right of Martin, who veered across the road to cut him up. The Welshman had to steady himself as the pair made contact.
The incident was witnessed by race leader Julian Alaphilippe, and the Frenchman was seen in conversation with Martin not long afterwards.
Speaking on the incident, the man occupying the yellow jersey said: "There was a lot of tension in the peloton at that stage – everyone wanted to be well positioned – and I saw something I don't like to see.
"There were riders who were too nervous, touching each other. Maybe they were scared I was going to attack, so I just tried to calm them down. I told them not to take any risks, because the riders in the break were no threat and I wasn't going to attack. I just called for calm."
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Luke Rowe's Tour de France is over
Image credit: Getty Images
Sir Bradley Wiggins had feared that Martin might land himself in trouble when reflecting on the bizarre coming together shortly after the race.
"Tony is prone to having a bit of a brain fart," Wiggins told Eurosport. "He's a lovely bloke, I spent a few years in a team with him and he does get very angry.
"It wasn't called for and I don't quite know what Tony is doing there. Everyone is entitled to do as they wish but nobody deserves that in the peloton, especially not from another rider. They will sort it out as gentleman, but at the end of the day, millions of people are watching this and that's not what we want to see."
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