Peace declared after Greipel sends threatening SMS to Boeckmans

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A truce has been declared between Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) and Kris Boeckmans (Vacansoleil-DCM) after it was revealed that an argument over sprint train tactics at the 2012 Tour de France spilled over into threats being sent by SMS. Team bosses have moved in to diffuse the row and calm has been restored after a week of animosity according to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.

Greipel was unhappy at Boeckmans attaching himself to the Lotto-Belisol sprint train at the climax to last Friday's sixth stage in Metz. Greipel was comfortably out-sprinted to the line by Peter Sagan (Liquigas) after his leadout train was disturbed by Boeckmans. The German's frustrations clearly got the better of him in the hours that followed, and he reportedly sent Boeckmans a strongly worded SMS that read: "Never ever go in my train again, you amateur."

The following day, according to the newspaper, Greipel almost rode Boeckmans off his bike as he attempted to reinforce his point from the night before. Boeckmans then reported the two incidents to the race officials.

Team bosses Marc Sergeant (Lotto) and Hillaire Vanderschueren (Vacansoleil) were then called in to resolve the dispute. Sergeant confirmed that Greipel had contacted Boeckmans, while the young Belgian rider said that the matter was in the past.

""Boeckmans was at fault in Metz," Sergeant said. "He jumped on the train without paying. His team had not worked and then he comes into our train ride. It cost us the victory, because the chain broke there. Yes, Greipel has sent him a text message. Just to point out that a train should not be disturbed."

Boeckmans commented: "We have both expressed our apologies. The matter is now closed."