I've posted this elsewhere, but it seems worth posting again. This is the "Race Incidents" regulation, rule 2.2.029 of the UCI manual.
In case of an accident or incident that could impinge upon the normal conduct of a race in general or a particular stage thereof, race director may, after obtaining the agreement of the commissaires' panel and having informed the timekeepers, at any moment, decide:
• to modify the course,
• to temporarily neutralize the race or stage,
• to declare a stage null and voice,
• to cancel part of a stage as well as the results of any possible intermediate classifications and to restart the stage near the place of the incident,
• to let the results stand or
• to restart the race or stage, taking account of the gaps recorded at the moment of the incident.
I voted in this poll to let the results stand, as per the option given in the rules. I do not know whether or not Quintana and the others acted in an unsportsmanlike manner in taking advantage of the confusion (caused by the organizer's poor communication efforts), but I do believe in following rules. I haven't found or seen any clear proof that the riders broke any rules
A side issue here is that the rules themselves seem insufficient and are unnecessarily broad. I almost wish some of the statistics and regulations wonks who govern baseball in the USA would have a hand at the UCI road rules. They'd get a lot longer, but at least there would be a lot more guidance.
In this case, unfortunately, what's best for the sport is not necessarily what's fairest or best for all the affected riders, and I believe what's best for the sport is to let the results stand. I wish there was some way to fine or otherwise punish the organizers for their poor preparation and management, though.