107th Milano - Sanremo, 19th March 2016, 291 km, WT

[HelloDolly]

Re:

Was Swift not reported as being caught up in the same accident? In which case, is his appearance at the end not equally suspicious?

It was Kennaugh & Thomas

 

[TMP402]

If it happened then a fan must have filmed it, even if just in the background of something else going on.

 

[TMP402]

Re: Re:

Was Swift not reported as being caught up in the same accident? In which case, is his appearance at the end not equally suspicious?

It was Kennaugh & Thomas

Although Swift was off the back with Matthews about 7km from the end.

 

[HelloDolly]

Re: Re:

Was Swift not reported as being caught up in the same accident? In which case, is his appearance at the end not equally suspicious?

It was Kennaugh & Thomas

Although Swift was off the back with Matthews about 7km from the end.

I think Comms called that wrong as I noted that

But if someone is suggestingswift got a tow as other poster implied then if "with Matthews" then surely same implication for him

Anyway Swift was not in crash ....in peloton on Cippressa

 

[Lemonbaloon]

Moses smell the roses. If this is true I hope someone caught it with their smartphones or something. Holding onto a car in a climb is just as bad as motorized bikes or traditional doping imo. It was probably a decision made in the "heat of the moment", however it should be investigatet and punished accordingly.

First I thought it was cool that Demare won. Now I am left disgusted.

 

[Vino's Mum]

"After the crash, I was ready to throw in the towel to be honest. I said to myself: ‘It's over.' I thought it was gone. But then my directeur sportif came past in the car and said not to panic because [Michael] Matthews had crashed too and there were more riders chasing back on," Démare said.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/dmare-i-was-ready-to-throw-in-the-towel-in-milan-san-remo-video/

 

[Bushman]

Re:

Matthews got back on after the same(?) crash but was too nacked to do anything. Was wondering how noted climber Demare managed it.

Matthews only got back when the peloton hit Poggio while Demare was already back by then

 

[classicomano]

Funny how Demare hasnt uploaded his San Remo ride to Strava yet, when he normally uploads every race.

Fraud.

 

[Tonton]

Re:

Matthews got back on after the same(?) crash but was too nacked to do anything. Was wondering how noted climber Demare managed it.

Matthews got back, therefore it wasn't impossible to do so. Did he come back with Demare? If so, was he hanging on a car too? FDJ comments, including tweeter feed, seem to indicate that he had several teammates upfront who helped him come back. Was there a sticky bottle help along the way?

Considering the race scenario, yes, it is possible that Demare DID hang on to a car. That would be an easy explanation. If so, was it more than a sticky bottle? Where is the line? We don't know. Not enough to call him a fraud, as classicomano does. At least classicomano is being more classy this time, compared to his rant against Nacer at PN.

If Demare cheated, he should be DQed.

 

[TMP402]

Neither FDJ nor Demare have tweeted today.

 

[classicomano]

Re: Re:

Matthews got back on after the same(?) crash but was too nacked to do anything. Was wondering how noted climber Demare managed it.

Matthews got back, therefore it wasn't impossible to do so. Did he come back with Demare? If so, was he hanging on a car too? FDJ comments, including tweeter feed, seem to indicate that he had several teammates upfront who helped him come back. Was there a sticky bottle help along the way?

Considering the race scenario, yes, it is possible that Demare DID hang on to a car. That would be an easy explanation. If so, was it more than a sticky bottle? Where is the line? We don't know. Not enough to call him a fraud, as classicomano does. At least classicomano is being more classy this time, compared to his rant against Nacer at PN.

If Demare cheated, he should be DQed.

What we do know, is that Tosatto called it the most shameless thing hes ever seen in a race, and that without it he wouldve never sprinted for the win.

And I'll gladly choose sides with the 41 year old veteran who doesnt have a dog in the fight.

 

[Bushman]

Re: Re:

Matthews got back on after the same(?) crash but was too nacked to do anything. Was wondering how noted climber Demare managed it.

Matthews got back, therefore it wasn't impossible to do so. Did he come back with Demare? If so, was he hanging on a car too? FDJ comments, including tweeter feed, seem to indicate that he had several teammates upfront who helped him come back. Was there a sticky bottle help along the way?

Considering the race scenario, yes, it is possible that Demare DID hang on to a car. That would be an easy explanation. If so, was it more than a sticky bottle? Where is the line? We don't know. Not enough to call him a fraud, as classicomano does. At least classicomano is being more classy this time, compared to his rant against Nacer at PN.

If Demare cheated, he should be DQed.

The thing is, Matthews didnt come back until the bottom of Poggio was reached and he was too knackered to do anything and was dropped shortly after

 

[del1962]

Re:

Roelandts could have been more duped than Swift though. It was Démare who launched Swift past him.

I think swift looked happy on podium and definitely Demare's wheel helped Swift, but we will never know how things would have panned out, however without anything blatant on camera like Nibali in Vuelta I am not sure what the race committee can do

 

[Flamin]

If what Demare did was so blatant, I imagine he passed more riders on Cipressa than just Tossato and Capecchi while hanging onto the car. I wonder if those guys will also speak up.

 

[Maaaaaaaarten]

Poor Bouhanni. Demare is really crushing him this year. First he's beating him in the sprints, but now Demare is even owning Bouhanni in terms of being the biggest ***. Impressive by Arnaud though, I didn't think he had it in him, I really gave Nacer the upper hand in that regard.

 

[Tonton]

That's the difference between us: I don't choose sides. If Demare cheated, I bet there was be a roadside cellphone catching it. Something. The two don't clearly say that they saw Demare hanging onto the car. 80 km/h in the Cipressa? Exageration? And how much credibility should we give to the Vinos and to Oleg-the-Madiot-hater's boy? Not crystal clear to me at this point. I'd like to see Strava, for sure. And I wish I had seen the same outcry, the same demands when Wiggo-Froome, Nibbles, Aru, and the likes won GTs.

Bottom line: if he cheated, Demare should be DQed. Let's see what happens and not jump to conclusions just yet. Particularly for wrong reasons.

 

[classicomano]

Poor Bouhanni. Demare is really crushing him this year. First he's beating him in the sprints, but now Demare is even owning Bouhanni in terms of being the biggest *. Impressive by Arnaud though, I didn't think he had it in him, I really gave Nacer the upper hand in that regard.

Yeah he really one upped him this time didnt he? I did let out a very girlish giggle when I saw Bouhanni cross the finish line while having a boxing match with his own bike.

 

[Tonton]

Re:

Poor Bouhanni. Demare is really crushing him this year. First he's beating him in the sprints, but now Demare is even owning Bouhanni in terms of being the biggest *. Impressive by Arnaud though, I didn't think he had it in him, I really gave Nacer the upper hand in that regard.

Yeah he really one upped him this time didnt he? I did let out a very girlish giggle when I saw Bouhanni cross the finish line while having a boxing match with his own bike.

At least we agree on one thing .

 

[Ricco']

https://twitter.com/YohannLossouarn/status/711530334576369664

 

[classicomano]

That's the difference between us: I don't choose sides. If Demare cheated, I bet there was be a roadside cellphone catching it. Something. The two don't clearly say that they saw Demare hanging onto the car. 80 km/h in the Cipressa? Exageration? And how much credibility should we give to the Vinos and to Oleg-the-Madiot-hater's boy? Not crystal clear to me at this point. I'd like to see Strava, for sure. And I wish I had seen the same outcry, the same demands when Wiggo-Froome, Nibbles, Aru, and the likes won GTs.

Bottom line: if he cheated, Demare should be DQed. Let's see what happens and not jump to conclusions just yet. Particularly for wrong reasons.

What Tosatto didnt see clearly, is if he was hanging from a bottle or onto the car window. But he made it very clear that he was being towed by the car. And if this story is backed up by another independent rider, who doesnt seem to have any motive to just make up a story just like it, that is very telling for me.

Lets see what does with his Strava file.

 

[Flamin]

According to Christophe Vandegoor (Belgian journo) the Demare-rumour was spread yesterday by Cofidis.

Anyway, Demare will react this evening so let's wait and see.

 

[Tonton]

Re:

According to Christophe Vandegoor (Belgian journo) the Demare-rumour was spread yesterday by Cofidis.

Anyway, Demare will react this evening so let's wait and see.

Nacer trying to land a Gracie kick on Demare, huh . That would be hilariously disappointing.

Yes, let's see. There are to be pics like the ones from twitter that Ricco just posted. Dashboard cams, cellphone shoots from fans...we'll know. I'll believe pics more than a rider saying that Demare was going 200 km/h uphill with a Bjarne look on his face. And see what Demare has to say.

 

[Leffe_Bruin]

I was watching the race on Sporza yesterday and I have a vague recollection of two riders being very close to a team car and I think one of them was a FDJ rider. I remember the commentators saying something like that they should be careful or else they might get a DG or something like that ... anyone else remembers this?

 

[HelloDolly]

What about on board footage


Lookked again at the footage..

although lots of riders crashed or were held up only 3 teams were left in numbers by the road side (FDJ, OGE Bora)
While Thomas, Pwels , Bennatti & a Cannondale rider are on the ground not getting up

3 OGE teammates are waiting for Matthews
Only one team mate waiitng for Demare ...I think its Bonnet
2 Boro boys ...I think one is Bennett
Every one else at this time have gone

As the peloton enters Imperia (at about 26km to go) we see about a minute back 2 Boro riders , Demare , Mezgec & Matthews chasing back on
Car 79 is with them

As the Peloton climbs the Cipress , Swift is near enough to the front
2 FJD riders fall to the back of the peloton inc Reze

As the peloton crests the Cipprssa Kennaugh is back on at the back but no sign yet of Matthews or Demare

However at 10km to go ...on the flat section before the climb of the Poggio Demare is now near the front ...
At 9.4 to go we see Matthews is the last rider at the back of the peloton and looks like he just got back on

So somewhere between 26km and 10 km ot go Demare dropped Matthews

CAV went backwards at the start of the Cippresa ...wonder if he saw anything

 

[yaco]

No point comparing Matthews with Swift and Demare - Matthews actually fell hard and injured his arm - Swift and Demare were caught up in the crash and didn't necessarily fall - So you comparing riders with different situations.