Danny Stam slammed the UCI's race jury for giving Demi Vollering a 20-second time penalty for drafting back into the caravan after a flat tire on stage 5 at the Tour de France Femmes.
Stam was driving the SD Worx's team car that Vollering was drafting behind and was also fined 200 CHF. At the finish line in Albi, he lodged an official protest to try and reverse the race jury's decision to penalise Vollering without success, and the decision remained final.
"Yes, we did get a penalty, and we did the official protest, but they didn't accept it, and we need to leave with [a penalty] of 20 seconds," Stam confirmed almost two hours after the race.
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"It's totally ridiculous. If someone punctures and you bring them back to the caravan, and you pass a couple of cars, and then go to the side, that you get punished for 20 seconds, it's ridiculous," Stam said.
Stams said he was concerned that the 20-second penalty could cost SD Worx and Vollering the Tour de France Femmes victory in Pau on Sunday.
"I think also, the UCI, we know they are always right, but they also need to look in the mirror and think a little bit about what is happening in the race, and I don't think something like this makes a difference in the final of a stage, but we can lose the Tour de France on five seconds," Stam said.
"If the decision is made by someone who sits in the car, probably never was on the bike, then I am disappointed in this kind of thing."
The race jury made its decision to penalize Vollering according to Article 12.2.007/4.7, as noted in the stage 5 communique.
"The UCI said that it is tolerated normally but not in the Tour de France," Stam said.
Vollering suffered a rear wheel puncture with 65km to go on the roads to Albi. Her team mechanic serviced her, then she jumped into the slipstream of the SD Worx car, driven by Stam, for at least a minute as she chased back to the peloton.
Once she reconnected with the back of the caravan, Stam continued to drive up the left side of the road, passing the other team vehicles with Vollering behind the team car.
A race commissaire on a motorbike whistled several times to dissuade Vollering and Stam from continuing forward. When the commissaire caught up to the team car, they pointed at the Stam and gesticulated that they would be reported to the race jury.
"I passed a couple of cars in the caravan, and they found it too much. [The commissaire] didn't say much because the window stayed closed," Stam said of the exchange between himself and the commissaire, suggesting they should have received a warning first but not a penalty.
"He said that I needed to go behind my rider, and if you look at the TV, I did that directly. It is also strange that we didn't get a warning, and they didn't say you need to go behind your rider but directly punished us with 20 seconds.
"It's too much for something like this, and it can have a big influence on the final at the Tour de France. If we have decisions like this at the top sports level for something small, we need to see if we are in the right way."
Vollering went into the Tour de France Femmes as one of two overwhelming favourites, alongside the defending champion Annemiek van Vleuten. She gained eight seconds on Van Vleuten on stage 4 into Rodez. However, with the penalty for drafting, she has lost five places - from second to seventh - and is now 12 seconds behind Van Vleuten.
"It is a ridiculous punishment that, in her eyes and our eyes, is not fair. If you look at the men's Tour de France, you see this happen daily. It can be a decision as to who wins the Tour de France.
"I hope the UCI looks in the mirror on Sunday and they have the right winner, and if it was in a fair way."
The Tour de France Femmes continues on Friday with stage 6 from Albi to Blagnac. The GC-decision stage 7 will crest the Col d'Aspin and finish at the summit of the Tourmalet. The eight-day race will end with a time trial in Pau. Stam isn't convinced that there will be large enough time gaps between Vollering and Van Vleuten on the Tourmalet and that this 20-second penalty could become a problem in the closing stages.
"The gaps can be big on the Tourmalet, but they can also not be so big. Again, I think if you lose the Tour de France in five seconds, then I hope that all the people who make decisions should look in the mirror," Stam said.
