Whilst Mark Cavendish was sprinting to a history making 35th Tour de France stage win in Saint Vulbas on Wednesday afternoon, a little further behind, another story was developing, involving Bahrain - Victorious' sprinter, Phil Bauhaus.
Although the German was never truly in the fight for the win, crossing the line in 16th position, post-stage Bauhaus was relegated by the race jury. The reason? A supposed deviation during final sprint, with the 29-year-old receiving a 500CHF fine and 13 UCI points penalization as a triple punishment. A tough one to take for Bahrain - Victorious.
According to a report by AS, Bahrain - Victorious were absolutely furious by this decision from the race jury. As a result, the team sent a delegation to meet with UCI commissaires ahead of stage 6, which is also expected to end in a bunch sprint by the way, in order to vent their frustrations and hopefully get themselves some answers about what they perceive as a very harsh call.
“We ask for equality,” Bahrain - Victorious demanded according to AS' report, citing numerous similar incidents from recent sprints, including the one on stage 5, that have gone unpunished. Whilst there was no changing the race jury's result post-relegation, the heated discussion did eventually come to a respectable end. Whether or not we will see any result of this heated showdown between race jury and disgruntled team in the results of the stage 6 sprint remains to be seen.
Notably, Bauhaus wasn't the only rider to receive a fine in the finale of stage 5, although he was the only sprinter punished in the messy sprint. Jarrad Drizners (Lotto Dstny) and Davide Ballerini (Astana Qazaqstan Team) were also punished for what the jury deemed "unseemly inappropriate behaviour at the finish and damage to the image of the sport. 200CHF fine."
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