UKC

fool!
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/nibali-disqualified-from-vuelta-a-espaa-for...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSQW8OX8VqA&feature=youtu.be

In reply to FrankBooth:

I was just thinking that sounds a bit harsh for holding onto the car while exchanging a few words but that is just hilarious. What a fool but impressive nerve holding onto a car accelerating that quickly for that long.

Thanks for sharing.

Toby

In reply to FrankBooth:

A sticky bottle is one thing, and like drafting between team cars, there's a fine art to staying clear of the commissars. But this was ridiculous - he wasn't getting a breather, he took a long tow and dropped the others he was with. What a cheat

In reply to FrankBooth:

Astana. Got to be the least credible team in the pelaton.

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

Katusha give them a run for their money, and Saxo-tinkoff aren't far behind. And yet Sky seem to get all the venom

In reply to FrankBooth:

Hilarious! That was ridiculous.

In reply to Chris the Tall:


Not when you're in the room.

In reply to Chris the Tall:

Didn't he have a go at Fromme at the Tour about something similar when the press accused him of attacking when Froome had a mechanical?

In reply to Fidman:

Yep, he reminded people of why Froome was DQed from the 2010 Giro. Froome claims he was planning to retire anyway, due to a knee injury, but not sure how credible that excuse was. But he wasn't a GC contender back then.

Unfortunately a friend popped round at 7 last night, so although I was watching, I wasn't listening (and mainly just looking out for scenic shorts of El Chorro). It did look like Sky decided to put the hammer down after the crash. Not unreasonable with 30km to go, but possibly payback for Nibbles attack in the the alps (although I thought that was perfectly reasonable as well). But they also had a rider at the back of the Astana group which was leading Nibbles back. Coincidence or was his job to keep an eye out for sticky bottles ?

Ain't kharma a bitch !

In reply to Chris the Tall:

They did indeed, but it wasn't for long, and I think was more meant to be a "now you know what it feels like" moment, as very soon after movistar and Katusha were back on the front

In reply to Chris the Tall:

According to Cycling Weekly: "We saw the videos,” said the race jury president, Bruno Valcic. “We watched the film together with Astana director Stefano Zanini.

“The penalties are really clear — the commissaires had to disqualify Nibali from the race. The sports director driving the car, Alexandre Shefer, is also out of the race.”

Who pointed the referees at the video or had they been watching the feed as the race went on?

In reply to Bob:



i think if I'd been one of the riders watching him disappear off up the road hanging on to a car, I might've mentioned it!

In reply to Hat Dude:


That's the most astonishing thing about it - doesn't he know he's lost most of his "friends" in the peloton with his past antics? What ever made him think he would get away with it?

I see lots of people think this is "harsh" or ruins the race. personally I'm surprised Astana are still allowed to run a cycling team given their recent record

In reply to Bob:


Surely its the the commissaires job to watch the feed, but even so in the age of social media it's pretty silly to think you'd get away with it. As with Porte, you always seem to get complaints of inconsistency when they do there job properly!

Of course, if he rode for Lotto Soudal, he'd have the perfect excuse

https://twitter.com/inrng/status/559737600492462080

In reply to FrankBooth:

Perhaps without full team support he knew he couldn't get back on and this was his way of not getting his head kicked in as a water bottle carrier for the next 3 weeks?

In reply to FrankBooth:

That's the stickiest (sticky bottle) situation I've seen , since 'sticky' the stick insect got stuck to a sticky bun!!

In reply to Tricky Dicky:

Its been dealt with badly.

This should be dealt with like drug taking, it is deliberate cheating and the ban should be longer.

In reply to Tricky Dicky:


shame he got banned. I was starting to think I might be in with a chance of competing. although since holding on for the entire race might be knackering I was wondering if I could just stick the bike on the roof rack and travel in comfort.

In reply to KevinD: In case any of you are interested in anything other than carping, some Slovak won a race today.

In reply to Mike Highbury:

Which race is that?

In reply to Sir Chasm:


Oh, I dunno. Some bollocks in Spain.

In reply to Sir Chasm:


some unimportant one. Far more interesting was the end of the downhill season.

In reply to Mike Highbury:


I occasionally go piking, if that helps?

In reply to Mike Highbury:

Spoiler alert!

In reply to HIGHTOWER:


Oh FFS, if you care about cycling you'll know the result already.

But if you watch cycling as a spectacle and I've ruined it for you, then an ISIS video will suffice as an alternative.

In reply to FrankBooth:
I see Astana are claiming to have only towed him 100m (conveniently the distance it was caught by the chopper camera) yet he seemed to make up nearly a mile distance to the back of the team car train in a few minutes

In reply to FrankBooth:

What a shame. It couldn''t have happened to a nicer, more honest bloke.... or team for that matter.

In reply to Rigid Raider:

Bit surprised that bouhani got away so lightly today. Not that he should have been DQed, there is a big difference between getting a sticky bottle when you are on your own and out the back, and quite another to zoom away at the front of a bunch. But should he have been in a position to challenge for the stage win ?

In reply to Mike Highbury:

>Oh FFS, if you care about cycling you'll know the result already.

Or maybe I was working in the evening so deliberately didn't click in the Vuelta thread.

In reply to Rigid Raider:


Fixed that for you.