The 2024 Renewi Tour saw a world class sprinter field take to the start line this Wednesday morning for stage 1. As expected, the day finished in a bunch sprint, won by Lidl-Trek's Jonathan Milan.
For many of the fastest men in the bunch however, things did not go as planned. Fabio Jakobsen and Olav Kooij were caught up in a nasty crash within the final 15km and right at the finish line, as Tim Merlier and Dylan Groenwegen fought it out for the lower placings on the day, the pair made contact and slid across the finish line in a nasty looking crash.
UPDATE
Tim Merlier has since been relegated due to his role in the incident. "The race jury has decided to relegate Tim Merlier at the end of the #RenewiTour stage 1, which he concluded in fourth," announces Soudal - Quick-Step's social media pages. "Tim was involved in a crash after the finish and suffered some abrasions, but should start on Thursday."
See it for yourself in the video down below!
Two of the dirtiest sprinters in cycling take each other out for 4th. At least DG gets to keep his teeth by going down in the road, unlike Jakobsen who he sent into the finish line trusses.
Classless move by Merlier! Hope he gets a much stronger penalty than just relegation.
That was a pretty nasty and unpredictable move by Tim Merlier. I wonder if he'll be receiving a 'yellow card' from the UCI, although I think that a stronger punishment is warranted for that situation. Hopefully Dylan Groenewegen is ok and can continue the race tomorrow.
That was really bad by Merlier. If the UCI are serious about safety then he should be out of the race at least, with a large fine and a large points deduction as well.