Twitter reacts to Tom Dumoulin's ill-timed toilet stop and Movistar's decision not to wait

Dumoulin fought to hold on to race lead after 30km

Stage 16 of the Giro d'Italia was mired in controversy after Movistar and Bahrain-Merida decided not to wait when race leader Tom Dumoulin was forced to take a natural break with 31km remaining.

The pink jersey was back on his bike in little more than a minute, but was unable to catch back up with the leaders, eventually finishing more than two minutes down to just about hang on to the race lead.

>>> Tom Dumoulin fights to keep Giro d'Italia pink jersey after rivals attack while he takes a natural break

While the debate about whether the other GC contenders should have waited for Dumoulin was heated, such an episode also saw a chance for a few light-hearted reactions on Twitter.

The controversy stemmed from this incident, which the cameraman thankfully turned away from before things got too personal.

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"Physical problem" is one way of putting it.

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The Team Sunweb mechanic seemed to forget that he wasn't pushing his rider off after any old mechanical.

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From Sean Yates' perspective there was only one course of action.

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There was also plenty of opportunities to mix condemnation of riders not waiting for Dumoulin with cheap jokes.

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Others though it might be a clever tactical ploy which us amateurs could learn a bit from.

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Of course it gave plenty of chances for the TV commentators to have a bit of fun.

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And someone just had to bring up Ag2r-La Mondiale's brown shorts.

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Meanwhile up front Vincenzo Nibali certainly wasn't hanging about on the descent.

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And although he held on to the pink jersey by 31 seconds, Dumoulin didn't look too happy on the podium, even getting booed for not spraying his champagne.

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Tomorrow's stage, 219km from Tirano to Canazei with some long, energy-sapping climbs, will doubtless see the GC contenders test Dumoulin's strength once more, and should make for an enthralling day's action.

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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.