2023-07-28 12:18:55
The sports director of the SD Worx team, the Dutchman Danny Stam, was excluded from the Women’s Tour de France on Friday by the jury of commissioners, following the events that took place during the 5th stage on Thursday. The International Cycling Union (UCI) has announced that it supports the decision justified by “the particularly dangerous nature of overtaking other cars and riders, and taking into account the inappropriate comments made to the jury of UCI commissioners”.
During the 5th stage, the Dutchwoman Demi Vollering took the wake of the car of her SD Worx team to return to the peloton following a puncture. The vehicle went up the line of cars before being called to order by a motorcycle. Vollering was penalized with a 20 second penalty.
Danny Stam called the decision “ridiculous”, saying the penalty was a “very heavy sanction”. “If we lose 20 seconds because of this, with the UCI supporting the decision, I wonder if these people are capable of running a race,” he exclaimed to the stewards.
Consequently, the sporting director was fined 500 Swiss francs (regarding 523 euros), and was excluded from the event. The team reacted to the sanction with a press release. “We are surprised, but accept the measure. We may have reacted too emotionally to the penalty at the time. SD Worx will continue racing with Anna van der Breggen as its first sports director.
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