Danny van Poppel again played a huge role in helping Sam Welsford win the stage 2 sprint at the Tour Down Under but the Dutch lead-out man was soon relegated and given a yellow card by UCI race officials for 'blocking' Tobias Lund Andresen, who was sprinting along the barriers in Welsford's slipstreams.
The overhead helicopter footage of the sprint in Tanunda showed how Van Poppel led out Welsford before moving off the centre of the road. He then looked back at Welsford and his rivals and edged back towards the barriers, closing the door on Lund Andresen and everyone behind him.
Lund Andresen waved his arm in protest but his Picnic-PostNL team simply suggested 'the gap squeezed in front of him." Bahrain Victorious were equally diplomatic after Phil Bauhaus was affected by the move and waved his arm in frustration, suggesting that their sprinter was simply "boxed in during the finale."
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Some considered Van Poppel's a clever and experienced move, part of the 'art of sprinting'. Others took to social media to describe it as 'dirty' and unsporting.
The UCI stuck to the rule book and deemed that Van Poppel's move was a 'deviation from the chosen line that obstructs and endangers another rider.'
He was hit with a 500 Swiss Franc fine and relegated to 118th on the stage, the last position in his group. He lost points he scored in the mountains and points competition, and was also formally given a yellow card as per the new UCI rules, implemented for 2025.
If a rider gets two yellow cards during the same race, they can be disqualified and suspended for seven days. Three cards in 30 days earn a rider or directeur sportif a 14-day suspension. Six cards over a 52-week rolling period can result in a 30-day suspension.
Van Poppel's move sparked fresh debate about sprinting and safety. Some believed he should have been disqualified or that Welsford and their Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team should have somehow been penalised for Van Poppel's actions.
Welsford arguably benefited from Van Poppel's move to obstruct and so endanger another rider. But the new UCI yellow card punishment means Van Poppel cannot try a similar move in the remaining stages of the Tour Down Under or in the weeks to come.
