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Sanctioned for unauthorized refueling, Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step) lost the yellow jersey on Wednesday to Briton Adam Yates (Mitchelton). The Belgian Wout Van Aert (Jumbo) won the 5th stage of the Tour de France.
A dramatic turn on the Tour de France. Julian Alaphilippe lost the yellow jersey on the green carpet, to the benefit of the Briton Adam Yates, after the arrival of the 5th stage of the Tour de France won in a sprint, Wednesday September 2 in Privas, by the Belgian Wout Van Aert.
Alaphilippe crossed the line in the leading group and the same time as the winner. Confused, he then learned in the area of the protocol area that he was subject to a sanction in time, provided for by the regulations, for unauthorized refueling, on the side of the road, on the approach of the arrival.
On the images from France Télévisions, the container is handed to the French rider 17 kilometers from the finish, ie beyond the regulatory limit of the last 20 kilometers authorized for refueling during the race.
Penalized by 20 seconds, the Frenchman fell in the standings (16e at 16 seconds), now commanded by Adam Yates, who had held second place until then, at 4 seconds. Alaphilippe appeared disappointed, under the shock of surprise. “It’s an official decision of the jury, so I can’t do anything about it,” he told France Televisions when he was still at the foot of the podium.
“If it’s like that, don’t worry. Tomorrow I’ll get up and we won’t talk about it any more,” added team leader Deceuninck. Is he still thinking of recovering the jersey he wore since the arrival of the 2e Sunday stage? “We’ll see,” cut the French puncher short.
“I would have preferred not to take the yellow jersey that way,” responded Adam Yates, who is donning the leader’s jersey for the first time in his career. The Briton had almost endorsed it during the eventful arrival at Chalet Reynard in the 2016 Tour but Chris Froome had kept him on a jury decision in his favor that day after the memorable episode of his run in the Ventoux.
“Julian was very disappointed because he did nothing wrong, he did not gain any sporting advantage by drinking twice from his can,” said Tom Steels, sporting director of the Deceuninck team.
With AFP
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