Drama unfolds at O Gran Camiño - KOM leader 'blocked' by Movistar rider, crashes, and is then disqualified because of it
Cycling
The Aviludo-Louletano team endured an intense day at O Gran Camiño, marked by the expulsion of Tomas Contte. The Portuguese continental team had the leader of the KOM classification, but he has been expelled from the race after an incident with a Movistar rider.
Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé experienced a day of contrasting emotions at O Gran Camiño. On the one hand, they lost Tomas Contte, expelled from the race after an incident with another cyclist. The incident involving Contte defined the fourth stage of the Galician race, contested between Xinzo de Limia and the Alto de Cabeza de Meda over a 145.7-kilometre route. The 27-year-old Argentinian was removed from the competition after assaulting another rider, a source from the organization confirmed to Agência Lusa.
At the time of his expulsion, Contte was leading the mountains classification, having worn that jersey since Stage 2, a day on which he joined the breakaway and collected enough points to take command of that secondary classification. The rider was further motivated after recently winning the same classification at the Volta ao Algarve.
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Responding to the episode, the Portuguese team’s sports director, Américo Silva, explained the team’s version of the incident. According to him, the rider was trying to get into the break when a moment of tension arose in the peloton.
"He was trying to go clear into the break. The teams at the front blocked the road, pushed him into the gutter, and he reacted," he said. In words to Ciclismo Internacional, Contte explained further what happened: “A breakaway had formed, and I was fighting for the mountain sprint and had to get in. Then they closed the road, as they always do when a breakaway forms, but in reality, the breakaway wasn't actually formed".
“There were people trying to attack, they gave me some space, I attacked, and a Movistar rider—I don't know who exactly—looked back, saw me, and went after me as I was coming at speed. When that happened, which was from left to right, and since there was a rider next to me, I tried to put my hand on his backside to avoid falling. I fell anyway, recovered, and chased," he recalls.
“When I rejoined the peloton, the race official called me over to tell me I was disqualified". The decision was official. "They didn't say anything else, just that I was disqualified. The official closed the window in my face, and that was it".
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- exactly, he had an amazing season, but with these overstatements they don‘t do him good.Ketterechts08-11-2026
- More to the point, it isn't his remaining goal.Renz08-11-2026
- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
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