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Vuelta a España Vuelta a España 2020: Stage 9 (B.M. Cid Campeador. Castrillo del Val > Aguilar de Campoo, 157,7 km)

Page 4 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
  • Haha
Reactions: F_Cance
He did the same thing Sagan did at the Tour, head-butted another rider twice, aka defended his position in his own team leadout train... Plenty of riders do it. I'm not excusing it but it'd be hypocritical from the UCI to relegate Sagan and not Bennett for the same thing...
Sagan tried to cut into a non-existent gap between Van Aert and the barriers. Bennett was holding his line until Liepins didn't and pushed him into the barriers. Definitely not the same thing.
 
Wow. I mean, there was something, but if they are really checking every sprint now like that, the winner won't be the winner in 50% of all cases.

Exactly, if that’s a disqualification there should be disqualifications in every messy sprint approach. I’m all for strictness about keeping to your lane in the actual sprint, but some contact between riders looking to hold or take good positions in the approach is absolutely normal.
 
Sagan tried to cut into a non-existent gap between Van Aert and the barriers. Bennett was holding his line until Liepins didn't and pushed him into the barriers. Definitely not the same thing.
Show me the frame when Liepins pushes Bennett into the barriers. Did not happen. We also can talk about how Morkov got Liepins out of position in the first place.
 
Show me the frame when Liepins pushes Bennett into the barriers. Did not happen. We also can talk about how Morkov got Liepins out of position in the first place.

He didn‘t push Bennett. He did try to use Bennett’s position against the barriers to slowly cut in between Bennett and Morkov, which would force Bennett out of position and give Trek prime position. A perfectly normal thing to do in the approach to a bunch sprint. He got shouldered back out of that move. Also a perfectly normal thing to do in the circumstances. This is a nothing to see here incident. There’s not one guy in the approach to a sprint who wouldn’t give Liepins move a try and not one guy who wouldn’t respond by using the shoulder to protect his position and line.
 
  • Wow
Reactions: Sandisfan
Show me the frame when Liepins pushes Bennett into the barriers. Did not happen. We also can talk about how Morkov got Liepins out of position in the first place.
Liepins veers a meter to the right in the second before Bennett elbows him, when Bennett was less than that away from the barriers. Only reason it fits is because the barriers curve slightly at that point. What Morkov did or didn't do doesn't impact whether Bennett should have been relegated. None of them did anything worthy of relegation.
 
There is never going to be a clear cut answer of how close is too close with regard to a crowded sprint. It is much more similar to baseball in the sense that players enforce unwritten rules.

A pitcher can throw a warning shot at a guys head, and while not against the rules, everyone knows what's being communicated. But one centimeter to the wrong and the ball hits the pitcher, then the rules spell clearly that the batter takes the base.

Bennett may have tried to throw the warning/deterrent shot, but was once centimeter to aggressive. Batter, take your base. Rest of the world, move on and get ready for the next pitch.
 
  • Like
Reactions: richwallone
There was enough room for Bennett. Liepins did not push him into the barriers. Just watch the replay.
There was space, but they were coming up to a right hand bend and that space was going to disappear quickly. Liepins was trying to squeeze Bennett out.

Bennett didn't take his hands off the bars, didn't change his line, stayed on the wheel of the rider in front. His other option was so just sit up and let the Trek train take his leadout man's wheel. If he gets a DQ for this, it'll allow all sorts of riders divebomb onto other sprint trains, and the rider being divebombed will just have to sit there and take it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Devil's Elbow
Liepins veers a meter to the right in the second before Bennett elbows him, when Bennett was less than that away from the barriers. Only reason it fits is because the barriers curve slightly at that point. What Morkov did or didn't do doesn't impact whether Bennett should have been relegated. None of them did anything worthy of relegation.

Bennett 's move was dangerous. I am Irish, and a big SB fan, but he lost Morkov' s wheel and resorted to two dangerous manoeuvres to try and get it back.

Harsh but fair.
 
Show me the frame when Liepins pushes Bennett into the barriers. Did not happen. We also can talk about how Morkov got Liepins out of position in the first place.
Morkov didn't move Liepins. Morkov got himself half a wheel ahead of Liepins and then the Bora riders changed their line. Liepins was then in the wind, so he tried to cut into the Quickstep train. Bennett saw him coming and defended his ground.

The 2nd shoulder may have been over the top, but it's hard to tell if Liepins was still trying to slide in or not.
 

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