"Then I asked him why he did that. And why he was immediately so aggressive. I jokingly added whether he was on Tramadol again. I think he understood me. Afterwards I thought maybe I shouldn't have said it. But he himself was stupid enough to use it in the Tour de France," the
Bahrain - Victorious rider hits back. This did not affect the outcome of the race for the veteran climber, but he continues to tell that Quintana was not the only rider with whom he had contact over the week of racing in Catalan roads.
"There was a lot of pressure at the top [of the climb]. Then [Iván García] Cortina intervened just before the top. He straightened up and delivered a punch to my upper arm. My upper arms aren't that developed though, so it really hurt," he tells. "I thought I couldn't let him get away with it. We always talk about safety and then you have a rider like that."
Poels was however particularly distraught by this incident, confused by the actions of the Movistar rider, who did not apologize after the stage, Poels tells: "After the finish I went to see the UCI and they have a VAR. I made an official complaint there, because several riders saw it."
"He got away with it very well with a small fine and some deduction from his UCI points. I thought he would come to say sorry, but I didn't see him. A truly sad figure."
