The important point would be no case that you know of. Not that I can cite one either but I dont have an encyclopedic knowledge of every stage race ever, no one does, so you can't categorically state its never happened, just never happened that we know of.
As surely any rider in a break is helping another team to success and deals are made all the time between teams with uncontested sprints and stage wins handed to each other.
You are literally just saying what I'm saying. No, indeed, not one that we know off cause no one is stupid enough to go to the press and say what exactly happened. When there's no proof the UCI can't punish a clear breach of the rules, when someone gives them the proof, they can, and that's exactly what happened; The fact that it happens all the time behind closed doors, doesn't change the fact that Ken Vanmarcke and Dries De Bondt did something that's against the rules. And not just any rules, they colluded. Ken Vanmarcke offered De Bondt a potential monetary reward if he did something for them that he normally wouldn't do. In what world is that fine?
Would you and others have the same energy if UAE for example would just be paying or promising contracts to other riders to ride for Pogacar when he's finally in some throuble at some point in this Tour? I doubt it.
Just last week in the Dauphine stage 1, Buitrago was in the breakaway, helping the other teams, when the sprint came just sat up and rolled in 18th.
You can't seriously think this is a good example of somthing similar? Like what? At least use another example of someone clearly being promised something, there's plenty, no one is denying that.
Buitrago jumped towards that group and relayed cause he's a GC rider wanting to get some seconds on others or because he wants to get a good result. Absolutely nothing dodgy about that. The fact that he goes early to try to surprise others and as a result as the only one of that break gets caught by the peloton doesn't change anything.
I didn't delve into it but this is on how i understand on what happened. A rider will get sacked by his current team and he started sending out his CV, trying to impress potential future employer, AFAIK not doing that at the expense of his current team. Now IMHO this happens all the time and hence the only "crime" here was a rider was honest about it.
No dude, the crime is him being "bribed", not that he admits to it. If someone kills something and later admits to it his crime isn't admitting to it but the fact that he killed someone. Like what are we even doing here. The fact that people get away with something cause no one can prove it happens, doesn't mean something is ok and the UCI can just look the other way when there's proof.
I get what you're trying to say. If De Bondt kept his mouth shut no one would've cared and everyone would've forgot, but that doesn't mean the UCI can just let it slide when someone openly admits to colluding and being bribed. It would be a slippery slope with more and more riders and teams doing it cause the UCI has then sent the message that it is completely fine to do. Which would make a mockery out of this sport.
All the examples of riders working together in breaks are just not the same, at all. There's almost every time (yes not always) a normal reason why they would do it.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram