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news
Vuelta 2015 Nibali and team car TV stillVideo: Vincenzo Nibali thrown off Vuelta after being towed by team car
Astana’s Vincenzo Nibali has been thrown out of the Vuelta a Espana after being caught on film taking a tow from a team car during yesterday’s Stage 2 to Caminito del Rey.
The Italian, winner of the race in 2010 and one of only six men to have won all three of cycling’s Grand Tours, was caught behind a big crash with around 30 kilometres remaining.
As he tried to limit his losses, helicopter footage showed the Italian at the front of a group of around 20 riders looking to chase back on to the peloton with 17 kilometres or so remaining when his Astana team car drew level with him.
Nibali then held on to the car as it accelerated away from the group he was riding with, the images beamed around the world.
While riders will often take advantage of a so-called sticky bottle offered from a team car to help them rejoin the group after a crash, puncture or mechanical incident, commissaires regularly turn a blind eye so long as the assistance is not too blatant.
In Nibali’s case yesterday, however, the aerial footage clearly shows the advantage he gained – and one denied to the other members of the group who were also battling to rejoin the race.
- Vuelta Stage 2: Orica-GreenEdge's Esteban Chaves wins and takes race lead
In a statement, race organisers Unipublic said: “Basing their decision on television images clearly showing an infringement of the rules, the Vuelta race commissaires decided to take him out of the race,” organisers said in a statement.”
The chief commissaire on the race, Bruno Valcic, added: “The film shows clearly that Nibali was clinging to the car for 200 metres.”
Astana sports director Alexander Sheffer has also been expelled from the race, while the team’s second support car will not be allowed to follow the next two stages.
The Kazakh team said it “is sorry for the error, and apologises to the peloton and race organisers for the harm these televised images caused to professional cycling.”
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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50 comments
By being so blatant he/Astana put the commissaires in a position where they had no choice but to apply a pretty substantial penalty. Whether a DQ is too much is another thing, but I don't think he can complain.
Also the defence that it was only for 100-150m so no real advantage is pretty laughable given the video.
So glad "our guys" are beyond that sort of cheating...
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/racing/giro-ditalia/froome-disqualified-f...
Given that happened 5 years ago and hasn't happened since, it appears they are.
I'm glad that they at least have some consistency in the application of the rules, but it doesn't appear that Froome was trying to seek an advantage from his position, as opposed to Nibali's antics, if you are drawing comparison.
I'm no Sky fan boy.
Twat
Nibali thinks he is above the racing rules he is not known the shark for no reason.
Nope - it's from his hometown and he because he is "always on the attack..."
ps - When did Nibali become the "bad guy?" He's generally thought of as "clean" - Sky almost signed him - and on his day is one of the most exciting riders in the peloton.
I can't speak for anyone else but my reason is because he signed for, and stayed at, Astana. I'd love to believe him as clean and I like him as a rider but you when you lie down with dogs, and particularly ones as filthy as Astana's, you are going to get fleas.
It's a leap of faith to believe him to be clean, it's a ropeless bungee jump of faith to believe that he has no knowledge of other people doping when so many of the team he rides for, along with their development/youth team are getting popped all over the place.
After Sunday Team 'cross race, maybe Nibs thought that Unipublic should be injecting (sorry..) a bit of Bordeaux -Paris into the race. Brmm, brmm...
I share the vast majority of the options here, but I do enjoy the few of you with no sense of degree.
Had he been alone and untelevised the penalty would've been far less strict (or even withheld altogether). The way he dropped 20 guys by holding on to a car is just not an acceptable way to race, and the fact that the footage was so clear made it incontrovertible. Every one of those guys was racing to get back to the peloton. Whatever the circumstances, to drop them like that was dangerous, anti-competitive and wholly unfair. Furthermore, it simply allows for no pretense that that televised race footage could possibly be described as "bike racing". As Astana themselves have laudably admitted, it tarnishes the image of cycling as competitive sport. He was rightly kicked off.
serious questions - What are your thoughts on breakaway riders who get punctures and then get towed back into the breakaway by either the team cars or race commissaire?
At least they usually have to turn the pedals
generally in those circumstances the cars are going at the same speed and the commissaires are quick to say get out the way ...
Remember how I think it was Peraud who hung onto a medical car for a long time after a crash int he TDF. Some are obvious. After seeing the footage of Nibali this morning, that was way beyond the norm.
I'll be more annoyed if he nicked a KOM on that stretch of road
There was no subtlety in his actions and he really was taking the proverbial. The odd sticky bidon is one thing but that was out and out cheating.
The team's statement put the blame squarely on the televised images rather than accepting blame, I see.
That's why they employ PR people!
Hmm. I took it to be more "not only did we cheat, but we did it in a way that makes the sport a laughing-stock, and we're sorry for both".
Not just the fastest way to cover 200 metres on a bike, but the fastest way to get the next three weeks off. Don't expect to see Nibali riding for Astana next season.
Clearly the support vehicle was having some engine trouble and Nibali was pulling it out of the other riders path.
Now THAT is funny, thank you!
Reading the comments leads one to the conclusion that some feel Nibali's exclusion is "unfair" as "they all do it". Wasn't that the excuse so many dopers used in the past to justify their cheating?
Cheating is cheating, both Nibali and Astana (The guys in the team car would know what was happening was illegal) broke the 11th commandment "thou shalt not get found out" the fact is the "dopers" excuse is no excuse at all.
Surely if he wanted off the race he would have just stayed on the deck after the crash?
To be fair there was far too much sticky bottle a go going at the Giro, I guess they have to draw a line somewhere (just a shame it's at the back) would have been better if this punishment were dolled out for a breakaway rider at the front getting a bit of a push uphill for something.
To be fair there was far too much sticky bottle a go going at the Giro, I guess they have to draw a line somewhere (just a shame it's at the back) would have been better if this punishment were dolled out for a breakaway rider at the front getting a bit of a push uphill for something.
I expected it to be blatant after I had it described to me, but that was something else...
A bit of leniency could be given in this case. I like to see the race between the GC riders unfold in racing situations, not due to bad luck being caught behind crashes and getting punctures. Its a shame as the vuelta now loses one of its aggressive riders before its really started.
Getting in the slip stream of various team cars - Fine.
The occasional sticky bottle when left stranded - Cool.
But Marty McFly-ing it away from a group who were also struggling to latch back on the the peleton? He went too far and strayed in to taking the piss territory.
He's got nobody to blame but himself, this was a move that was too stupid to go unpunished.
It was the act of a desperate man, but I think it shows what lengths he is willing to go to.
It does seem crazy that he thought he could get away with this. Can you imagine if other contenders had team cars ride them up the road to compete at the front end. Where would it stop?! He talks about a 10 minute penalty, but if you accept that why would you bother.
He should have just taken the bad luck and gotten on with things. It does put Ritchie Porte's Giro into perspective.
Indeed a 10 minute penalty means nothing if you plan to be towed by a car!
It was quite funny watching his little tantrum when his support team eventually got to him with a spare bike after the big crash too. He probably guilted them into giving him a tow as he lost so much time just standing in the middle of the road waiting for a bike.
I agree with some of the views above (about him doing it on purpose) he is a great bike rider but seems to have the temperament of a petulant child, I don't think playing second fiddle to Aru is something that sits comfortably with him so maybe the possibility of getting kicked off the race arose yesterday and he took advantage of it.
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