"I don't think he's done anything wrong. Not at all" - Lotto Dstny manager disagrees with jury putting blame on Maxim Van Gils for stage 13 crash

Despite only a reduced peloton entered the final sprint of Tour de France stage 13, there was still a crash in the final kilometer which caused quite a commotion. Arkéa's Amaury Capiot came into contact with Lotto Dstny's Maxim Van Gils with both riders hitting the deck quite hard. The race jury found the younger Belgian guilty, however Lotto's sports director Kurt Van de Wouwer doesn't agree with the one-sided decision.

"Capiot deviated a little from his line," Van de Wouwer told WielerFlits. "Not much, but Maxim was blocked between Capiot and the barriers. He had to do something. It was that or fall himself. So I don't think he's doing anything wrong. Not at all."

The crash also held up Arnaud De Lie, the designated finisher at Lotto Dstny. He could no longer sprint for the win. "We are riding a very strong race, but we are not rewarded for it," says Van de Wouwer. "In the Pyrenees it will be very difficult for us, so today was a great opportunity for us to try something else. The disappointment was after the race there, but it could have been much worse," the team manager refers to the fact that De Lie himself did not fall.

At WielerFlits, Van de Wouwer also took stock of Lotto Dstny after almost two weeks of the Tour de France. "I think we’ve finished top five six times. Our goal was a stage win and in that respect we’re still left wanting, but if you look at the results in general, we can look back with satisfaction. Arnaud is also riding his first Grand Tour here. He’s already finished in the top five four times, so the balance is positive. But the icing on the cake is missing."