FDJ riders round on Tony Martin to accuse him of causing massive Tour of Flanders crash (video)
Antoine Duchesne accuses Tony Martin of "squeezing him into a ditch"
Tony Martin has found himself on the receiving end of accusations that he caused a major pile-up at the Tour of Flanders after "squeezing" a Groupama-FDJ rider into a ditch.
The crash in question occurred with a little more than 100km remaining as riders fought for position on the approach to the Muur van Geraardsbergen with Veranda's Willems-Crelan working hard to keep the pace high on the front.
Footage of the crash appears to show Tony Martin, on the left of the picture, moving right across the road and Groupama-FDJ rider Antoine Duchesne crashing at high-speed into a ditch. That set off a chain reaction that brought down a number of other riders including Oliver Naesen, Michael Valgren, and Ian Stannard.
With no overhead footage of the crash, it is unclear exactly who was to blame for causing the pile-up, but there was little doubt in the minds of Duchesne and his Groupama-FDJ team-mates who took to Twitter to accuse Martin of causing the crash.
Duchesne kicked off the accusations by tweeting a link to the video of the crash, with the caption "What happened when @tonymartin85 doesn’t want to get passed. Squeezed me right into the ditch #classy."
Duchesne's Groupama-FDJ team-mate Jacopo Guarnieri also weighed in on the issue, saying "I would like to congratulate @tonymartin85 for the extremely intelligent move that caused the crash of @tonythetiger_1 !! Well done!!", to which Davide Cimolai replied "He should just do the individual time trial. 90% of riders don’t like him."
Neither Martin nor his Katusha-Alpecin team have had anything to say about the crash or the allegations of the Groupama-FDJ riders.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
However, there might be a few awkward conversations at the Katusha-Alpecin dinner table in the run-up to Paris-Roubaix after it was noticed that Rick Zabel, the Katusha rider who was brought down in the crash and suffered cuts to both legs, had "liked" Guarnieri's tweet.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Henry Robertshaw began his time at Cycling Weekly working with the tech team, writing reviews, buying guides and appearing in videos advising on how to dress for the seasons. He later moved over to the news team, where his work focused on the professional peloton as well as legislation and provision for cycling. He's since moved his career in a new direction, with a role at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
-
Zwift extends free Play Controllers worth $99 with all eligible Zwift Smart Trainer purchases until Monday 14th October
Deals Zwift is celebrating ten years of virtual cycling and everyone's invited
By Paul Brett Published
-
I'm about to turn 40 - how can I keep riding fast?
Approaching a landmark birthday, Charlie Graham-Dixon explores how ageing affects cycling performance and what can be done to stay ahead of the curve
By Charlie Graham-Dixon Published
-
Elisa Longo Borghini pips Kasia Niewiadoma on the line to win second Tour of Flanders
In-form Italian praises Lidl-Trek team after repeating feat she achieved in 2015
By Tom Davidson Published
-
'It's one of the hardest races I've ever done' - Mathieu van der Poel on his historic Tour of Flanders victory
World champion becomes seventh man in history to win the race three times
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Mathieu van der Poel wins record-equalling third Tour of Flanders with 45km attack
Dutchman pulls off audacious long-range coup to claim Monument victory
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Wout van Aert’s Classics dreams go up in smoke, but all is not lost for Visma-Lease a Bike
Attention turns to another promising squad member after their talisman is ruled out of Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and Amstel-Gold Race with 'several fractures'
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Wout van Aert 'in a good place' ahead of Tour of Flanders despite Visma-Lease a Bike illness and injury crisis
Loss of Christophe Laporte and Dylan van Baarle 'a big blow' says DS Grischa Niermann as team builds for Monument double header
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Five things to look out for ahead of the Tour of Flanders
Lidl-Trek's impressive form and Mathieu van der Poel's explosive start to the Classics season could make for quite the contest this weekend
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Wout van Aert gears towards career-defining fortnight in new, enlightened mindset
Belgian admits pressure has weighed heavily on his shoulders in the past as the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix come around once more
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Tour of Flanders, Giro d'Italia, Paris-Roubaix Femmes: Cycling Weekly's races of the year for 2023
Our writers pick their best moments from an enthralling 2023, what do you think?
By Adam Becket Published