Two Dutch riders have been disqualified from the Tour de Guadeloupe after being caught sneaking back into the peloton in the final 40km of a stage.
According to local media reports and official race results, Tenniglo Niels and Huub Van Kapel of the RC Jan Van Arckel club team were disqualified after stage 2. They were captured on a spectator video hiding behind a car and then rejoining the peloton, with 40km to race, allegedly after being distanced earlier in the race.
The video went viral, and Niels and Van Kapel were soon identified by their race numbers. The disqualification was reported in local media and then even by L'Equipe in France. Guadeloupe is a French overseas region in the Caribbean, with a number of French teams also riding the Tour de Guadeloupe.
"I had two videos to support this big charade, because that's what it is. It's very serious!" Frédéric Théobald, the president of the Guadeloupe Islands Regional Cycling Committee, told local website La Première after the two riders were disqualified during Sunday's stage.
"The commissaire excluded them during the race. They continued, but they were excluded."
As per UCI rules, the two riders were fined 100 Swiss francs and deducted 20 points from the UCI ranking. The two riders have yet to react to the disqualification.
The nine-stage Tour de Guadeloupe began on Friday, with a mix of Continental and club teams in action. A number of riders failed to finish or were outside the time limit during the opening stages at the weekend. There were reports and video footage of other riders caught holding onto team cars, of crashes and other issues.
The Guadeloupe Islands Regional Cycling Committee promised further punishment for riders caught cheating.
"There are other riders who have crashed into cars, with videos to support this. So, there will be more sanctions that will fall tomorrow morning," Frédéric Théobald said on Sunday.
"I remind you that cycling is a sport that is practised by pedalling and holding onto your handlebars, your handlebars and nothing else... It's dangerous."
