"We regret the incident and we take responsibility" - Visma apologize for Zingle's extreme sticky bottle incident; Richard Plugge fined and given yellow card
Cycling
The E3 Saxo Classic was marked by Mathieu van der Poel's solo victory and one spot behind him on the podium was Team Visma | Lease a Bike's Per Strand Hagenes who rode a strong race. However not every Visma rider was in the spotlight for the right reasons, as Axel Zingle was seen being towed by a team car and was duly disqualified. Behind the wheel was none other than team CEO Richard Plugge, and the incident had the team come out and apologize.
'Sticky bottles', the act of a rider and a sports director in the team car grabbing onto the bidon and accelerating sharply and shortly, are not uncommon in pro cycling. However there is a general unwritten rule that understands that this can only be used for brief moments, and following an incident from a rider, such as a crash or mechanical.
However at times, these are taken to the extreme. Vincenzo Nibali infamously did so at the 2015 Vuelta a España whilst being one of the leading favourites and was disqualified from the race as a result. This Friday at the E3 Saxo Classic, it was Visma's Axel Zingle's turn, after a spectator caught the 'sticky bottle' on a video which then quickly spread like wildfire throughout social media.
Before the race was even finished, the Frenchman had been disqualified, even though at the time, the video showed he was not being followed by other riders or commissaire cars who would report it, making the video the leading evidence of the wrongdoing.
Team DS Marteen Wynants explained to Sporza what happened in his point of view from a different team car: “We received a message with about 10 kilometers to go that Zingle had been taken out of the race. At first we did not know what had happened, but later we heard there were images of him holding onto the car.”
Apologies for Visma's conduct
There was nothing the team could stand on to defend Zingle and, as it turned out, Richard Plugge's actions. The team CEO was the man on the car that was towing Zingle along, and the footage was too damning for there to be a plausible justification.
Wynants apologized in behalf of the team for what was a controversial moment. “We regret the incident. This does not contribute to the image of cycling. It happened in the background after a puncture and it did not influence the result, but it should not have happened.”
“Once again, we regret the incident and we take responsibility. The fact that something happens more often in cycling does not give us the right to do it as well," he concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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