A dream week for Filippo Ganna has concluded in nightmare after the Ineos Grenadiers rider was disqualified on the final stage of the Tour de la Provence.
The Italian, who won the opening prologue, slipped out of the leader's jersey on the Montagne de Lure summit finish, but still held on to a top-10 overall finish, or so it seemed.
Long after the conclusion of the race, the results sheet was revised, with Ganna listed as 'DSQ' - disqualified and no mention of his name on the final General Classification rankings.
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The reason appears to be a mid-race bike change, which the UCI race officials deemed illegal.
Ganna was seen stopping shortly after the half-way point of the final stage, nodding to the camera before wheeling to a halt from a position near the front of the bunch. He then appeared to change from his normal disc brake bike onto a rim brake version, which is lighter and would provide an advantage for the big final climb.
Changing bikes mid-way through a stage is allowed, but a rider should be serviced from a team car behind the bunch. The rule that Ganna appears to have fallen foul of is changing at a fixed, predetermined location by the roadside.
The UCI regulations state: "Mechanical assistance at fixed locations on the course is limited to wheel changes only except for races on a circuit where bike changes can be made in the authorized zones."
Ganna had entered the stage with a two second lead on Julian Alaphilippe (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) but the terrain on that final day of racing meant it was one that was always bound to deliver an overall shake up, regardless of any DSQ on the results sheet.
Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) jumped from 10th position to GC victory after his solo stage win on top of the Montagne de Lure. Alaphiliipe, who finished seventh after paying the price for trying to follow Quintana, finished seventh on the stage which was enough to retain his overall second place.
