Cycling: The Tour of Spain is over for Vincenzo Nibali. The race jury disqualified the Astana captain after he let himself be pulled by his team car in the stage final.
The driver of the car - Nibali's athletic director Alexander Sheffer - was also expelled. The scene happened 16 kilometers from the day's finish: Nibali, who had previously been involved in a mass crash and had to wait a long time for a spare wheel, was at the front of a chasing group and tried to reconnect with the peloton with all the favorites. A team vehicle from Astana sat down next to the Sicilian-born and within seconds drove him out of the chasing group and ahead of the cameras. A little later, Nibali was seen again on the rear wheel of a teammate who had been waiting. He managed to catch up with the leading group, but then lost 1:38 minutes to the day's winner on the final climb.
On his Facebook page Nibali expressed disappointment. “What happened today at the Vuelta happens in every race, which is not to say it's not wrong and I shouldn't be penalized. The judges pronounce the verdict. After a bad year for many reasons, I came to the Vuelta with the desire to save the season.” Right from the first stage, he found himself on the asphalt, with a destroyed bike, abrasions, 1:20 minutes behind peloton and the panic of having lost everything. “I made the mistake of letting myself be dragged 150 meters. In cycling, the race is a race, no one is waiting for you. Such episodes are common, especially after a fall. I was expecting a hefty fine, but that would have kept me in the running. I would have accepted a time penalty of ten minutes. I wasn't the first and I won't be the last to do this. Sorry for the time that stole you.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJuQB4EpDXo
Emotions ran high on social media. Some harshly condemned Nibali and even called for the entire team to be expelled. Others felt the penalty was too high and encouraged Nibali. Despite the Italian championship title and Tour stage victory, he will quickly want to forget the 2015 season.
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