Down Under Classic, Tour Down Under stage 1, and now stage 2... Danny van Poppel is one of the absolute best leadout men in the peloton and has delivered Sam Welsford to three victories in as many race days. It is the best possible outcome, but today it came with a yellow card as the Dutch rider did a very controversial sprint.
Whereas in the other days it was not the case, today the Dutchman very clearly infringed the rules in a bunch sprint and was penalized for it. This is because after launching his leader for his sprint, he turned right again towards Welsford, closing Tobias Lund Andresen who was mid-sprint and looking to try and overtake the eventual stage winner. The blocking of Andresen consequently also pushed Phil Bauhaus again the barriers, the two riders that were on the wheel of Welsford into the sprint, and lost all chances of fighting for the victory in this moment.
On social media van Poppel's move was also highly criticized, and without a doubt one that was purposeful. As a result he has received a yellow card from the race commissaires. If he commits the same infraction during this week he will be disqualified from the race and suspended for seven days, besides receiving a hefty fine.
After today, van Poppel was fined 500CHF, was relegated to the last position in the peloton, was penalized 7 points in the points classification and 3 in the KOM classification as well as a result.
You can check the incident in the video below:
Danny Van Poppel didn't even make it subtle and just jumped across the road in front of Lund after finishing his job AND looking behind LOL. Not cheeky, straight dirty.
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) January 22, 2025
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