"This has happened 300,000 times" - Sep Vanmarrcke defends brother and Dries de Bondt over Finestre controversy

The Giro d'Italia's final competitive stage was a memorable day for several reasons and amongst them was the unusual work that Dries de Bondt did for Richard Carapaz halfway through the Colle delle Finestre. The situation continues to evolve and Sep Vanmarcke, brother of a big figure involved, has shared his opinion.

On the brutal penultimate climb of the Giro, the GC race was on fire and Simon Yates was already up the road by this point. Dries de Bondt, in an interview after the Giro, revealed that he paced Carapaz up the climb after a conversation with EF Education-EasyPost DS Ken Vanmarcke in the morning of that day.

It had been clear that the conversations were regarding a possible contract for the 2026 season and that if De Bondt could play a decisive role in Carapaz' potential Giro victory, this could've turned into a reality. On the day, this was not the case.

Collaborations between riders of opposing teams and the battles for contracts often do lead to unusual situations in the peloton, but it was the openness and direct admission of racing in the interests of a rival team that kicked off a lot of debating in the cycling world. That has, this week, turned into an investigation from the UCI which could have consequences to both sides.

Sep Vanmarcke, former pro and classics specialists, fears that it may have very bad consequences for his brother Ken, the team's DS at the Giro: "It is not a pleasant situation for my brother. You don't want to be in the media like that. Hopefully they are sensible enough and his job is not in danger. It is a shame," he told Sporza.

He believes the topic has been overextended and dramatized, putting the focus on one example of a situation that happens often in the cycling world. "It's going in a direction that is absolutely unnecessary. This has happened 300,000 times. Collaborations happen in all situations, also outside the race. It is impossible that they (the UCI, ed.) start this. Then they will have a lot of work."