Tour de France 2019 news - Wiggins: Thomas a rider down now, Rowe clash must have been serious

Updated 24/07/2019 at 20:30 GMT

Geraint Thomas is a rider down after Luke Rowe was expelled from the Tour de France, and it could be very significant, according to Bradley Wiggins in his latest Eurosport podcast.

Geraint Thomas of United Kingdom and Team INEOS / Luke Rowe of United Kingdom and Team INEOS / during the 106th Tour de France 2019

Image credit: Getty Images

Speaking to Matt Stephens in the latest onsite bonus edition of The Bradley Wiggins Show podcast, available now on all major podcast platforms, the 2012 Tour de France champion reacted to the big news that Rowe and Tony Martin had been expelled from the race after a clash on Stage 17.

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"Luke Rowe and Tony Martin had a bit of a brain-fart," Wiggins said on the podcast.

"He gets quite angry, Tony, he's a lovely guy but I'm not too sure what led to that in that moment.

"The nature of what Tony was trying to do, he was trying to knock Luke Rowe off!

"You have to remember the amount of people watching this around the world. As a brand, the Tour de France don't want that on the TV.

It's a real surprise - it must be quite serious to have both thrown out of the race. There must have been something that we will find out in due course. G is one rider down now!