Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb) has registered his discontent after a spat with Tour de France stage 16 runner up John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) after the finish in Romans-sur-Isère.
A video shortly after the finish line, where the Australian won ahead of Degenkolb by a wheel's length, shows the incident, which will not be digested well at a Tour de France that has already saw Peter Sagan disqualified for irregular sprinting.
The footage shows Degenkolb ride up from behind on the right and appear to strike Matthews on the back of the head and left ear.
"I was waiting for the result and he grabbed me on the way past," Matthews said. "The officials saw it. We'll see what the officials will do about it. I don't think it's very sportsmanlike."
In the jury post-stage press release, Degenkolb failed to appear with other violations, including four riders fined 100 Swiss Francs for sticky bottles.
The UCI jury, ever-vigilant after the stage four Sagan incident, could still decide on the newly emerged footage. In 2010, when Carlos Barredo attacked Rui Costa after the finish, the jury fined them 400 Swiss Francs each, with Barredo also receiving a two month ban at the start of the 2011 season.
>>> Five talking points from stage 16 of the Tour de France
Trek-Segafredo lodged a complained against Matthews's sprint, saying that the Australian nudged the German sprinter in the final metres of Tuesday's stage, a charge that Matthews rejected.
"From my perspective, I don't think I did anything wrong. I didn't change my line, I sprinted in a straight line," Matthews responded.
"I'm not sure what was wrong with Degenkolb, but that's up to him."
Thank you for reading 10 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
-
-
British bike company Planet X appears set to appoint administrators
The South Yorkshire-based firm has been building bikes for over 30 years
-
London cyclist left with serious injuries as £12,500 bike stolen by gang
As well as losing several teeth, cyclist also suffered broken jaw, scapula and collarbone in incident
-
Five things we learned from the second week of the Tour de France 2022
Sprinters take matters into their own hands in the week two of the race
-
Michael Matthews gambles and surprises by climbing to first Tour de France stage win in five years
BikeExchange-Jayco rider attacks from break and triumphs on steep finish up to Mende
-
Simon Yates misses out on Tour de France selection
Team BikeExchange-Jayco opt for sprint focussed line-up focused on Dylan Groenewegen
-
Michael Matthews storms to victory on opening stage of Volta a Catalunya
Australian wins for a second time in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, outsprinting Sonny Colbrelli
-
'It's a shame to be out of the game': Michael Matthews just happy to be healthy after false positive at Giro d'Italia
The Australian was forced to withdraw from the Italian Grand Tour following a positive coronavirus test but has subsequently returned two negative tests
-
Michael Matthews retests negative for coronavirus after leaving Giro d'Italia
The Australian's initial positive may have been a false positive
-
Giro d’Italia 2020: Michael Matthews withdraws from race after coronavirus diagnosis
Michael Matthews has withdrawn from the Giro d’Italia after testing positive for coronavirus.
-
Michael Matthews pulls out of Sunweb contract early to re-join Mitchelton-Scott
Michael Matthews is leaving Sunweb before the end of his contract to re-join his old Mitchelton-Scott squad.
