Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) was disqualified from Paris-Roubaix after taking a tow from his team car following a mechanical problem.
The young British rider was an outsider for a top placing at Paris-Roubaix after impressing at Dwars door Vlaanderen and the Tour of Flanders. However, his race ended with 130km to go when he was officially disqualified by race commissaires and told to drop back from the peloton.
Tarling was part of the select 30-rider front group which formed after Alpecin-Deceuninck forced the pace for reigning champion and race favourite Mathieu van der Poel with 150km to go.
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He then had a bike problem and lost contact with the group on the exposed roads. He was soon able to chase but was then seen taking a sticky bottle tow at high speed
from his Ineos Grenadiers team car by a motorbike official and on television.
The tow only lasted a few seconds but clearly included an acceleration from the team before he dived into the slipstream
The motorbike commissaire and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) quickly intervened to disqualify Tarling after seeing the incident, which was caught live on television.
He was told he was out of the race via team radio and gradually dropped back before speaking to the chief race commissaire in the red car following the peloton. After failing to argue his case, European time trial champion Tarling then angrily waved away a television motorbike that was ahead of him.
Tarling was later disqualified from the official results, fined 500 Swiss francs and docked 100 UCI ranking points. Directeur sportif Christian Knees was also fined 500 Swiss francs.
The Ineos Grenadiers directeur sportifs held a debrief post-race with new Performance manager Scott Drawer. Tom Pidcock's 17th place was a good result, but Tarling's disqualification cast a shadow on their race.
Tarling did not talk after the race, but Ian Stannard faced up to questions about the incident from Cyclingnews and GCN. The former pro rider hinted that the punishment was perhaps harsh and lacked consistency, especially in a hectic race like Paris-Roubaix. Other riders, no doubt, perhaps took advantage of similar tows during the race but perhaps not so close to the front group.
“It’s a decision that was made out on the road, and it’s done,” Stannard said.
He would not reveal who offered Tarling a sticky bottle or say if it was right that Tarling was disqualified.
“It’s a racing circumstance. He had a bike change, and it is what it is. At the end of the day the commissaires made the decision and that’s it.”
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