VIDEO | NSN Cycling Team temporarily suspend rider after punching rival at Dutch Ster van Zwolle race

Whilst Strade Bianche took the spotlight his Saturday, over in the Netherlands there was a separate racing incident which captured the attention of many on social media. During the Ster van Zwolle race, NSN Cycling Team's development rider Kiaan Watts punched a fellow rival, captured on the TV broadcast, and has led to a surge in criticism.

"NSN Development Team deeply regrets the actions of Kiaan Watts today at the Salverda Bouw Ster van Zwolle race. The team expects that its riders race in a sporting and professional manner at all times and wishes to extend an apology to Marijn Maas, the BEAT CC p/b Saxo Team, race organizers and the UCI commissaires," the team shared in a statement.

With the TV bike in front of the peloton there was no ambiguity on what the incident consisted of. Whilst the previous context is not known, it is possible to see in the clip Watts punching a rider from the BEAT team during a tense moment in the race in which there were crosswinds and a lot of movement at the head of the peloton. The incident led to Watts being disqualified from the race, although it is not yet known whether there will be further consequences aside from those the team have issued on him.

The 24-year old New Zealand rider, in his third year with the Swiss team's development program, has been removed from today's race in the Netherlands which he was meant to be racing back-to-back. However, the UCI has not issued a statement or a suspension on the matter. "As a result, the team has decided to remove Kiaan from Dorpenomloop Rucphen tomorrow to give him time to reflect on his actions and the consequence". On social media, there has been a lot of call to action against the rider due to his violent actions during the race, an unusual situation.

You can check the video below: