Filip Maciejuk "made a big f*cking mistake" says Luke Rowe: "I really feel sorry for that boy"

One of the big incidents from the 2023 Tour de Flanders was when Filip Maciejuk lost control and wiped out nearly half the peloton causing numerous injuries and earning himself a disqualification. INEOS Grenadiers' Luke Rowe was there, in the thick of it and has some sympathy for Maciejuk.

"Luckily we were on the other side of the road," Rowe says on the Watts Occuring podcast alongside compatriot and teammate Geraint Thomas. "You know that sound of a fall, everyone brakes and you hear those characteristic sounds. It was as if a bus drove right through the peloton. Unfortunately Ben Turner was there on our behalf, he broke his arm again."

Despite seeing his teammate and numerous other go down hard, Rowe reveals he has sympathy for Maciejuk as the UCI are set to investigate further sanctions against the rider. "That guy made a big fucking mistake , you can't ignore that. But still, he doesn't do that on purpose either," says Rowe. “I feel for that boy. He is suddenly the number one public enemy. Maybe I shouldn't, but still: Imagine yourself in his shoes. I have also made mistakes, but knocking about forty to fifty men to the ground is something else. Ironically enough, he himself was still standing."

Former Tour de France winner Thomas however reveals he is less forgiving after speaking to fellow INEOS rider Pavel Sivakov about the incident. "Pavel Sivakov immediately said that he had seen the boy do this a few times in Paris-Nice this year, to which some of the boys agreed. Let me say there was less sympathy for him at our table."