Tour de France

[SuisseBluebird]

Any thoughts on Philipsen?

From my view he's living a charmed life at the moment. He's an incredible sprinter but all three stage wins, including todays come with some controversy.

Stage 3 - He almost put WVA into the barriers, had he not backed out that would have most certainly been a crash and a clear relegation for Philipsen.

Stage 4 - MVDP gets relegated for barging Girmay out of the way for the sprint lead out for Philipsen. Makes no difference to Alpecin as they kept the stage win.

Stage 7 - Cuts right across traffic to get on Cavs wheel and blocks off Girmay forcing him to back out unless he gets put into the barriers, similar to his move on WVA on stage 3.

UCI rule is clear on not deviating in a sprint from your line but Philipsen literally went across the entire road to cut off Girmay and get on Cavs wheel... It's exciting to watch but had Girmay not backed out that's going to end in a crash and a big one.

[Loramski]

Any thoughts on Philipsen?

From my view he's living a charmed life at the moment. He's an incredible sprinter but all three stage wins, including todays come with some controversy.

Stage 3 - He almost put WVA into the barriers, had he not backed out that would have most certainly been a crash and a clear relegation for Philipsen.

Stage 4 - MVDP gets relegated for barging Girmay out of the way for the sprint lead out for Philipsen. Makes no difference to Alpecin as they kept the stage win.

Stage 7 - Cuts right across traffic to get on Cavs wheel and blocks off Girmay forcing him to back out unless he gets put into the barriers, similar to his move on WVA on stage 3.

UCI rule is clear on not deviating in a sprint from your line but Philipsen literally went across the entire road to cut off Girmay and get on Cavs wheel... It's exciting to watch but had Girmay not backed out that's going to end in a crash and a big one.

Difficult one this. I take your point but if we're calling for more VAR in the sprint finishes then maybe we should be careful what we wish for. Definitely pick up on the blatant cheating, dangerous riding and persistent offenders, and I know it's difficult to know where to draw the line, but I'm happy with most of the stuff that goes on.

It's ok to say don't deviate from your line but how else do you overtake, latch on to a different wheel, go for a gap etc? They're all part of the sprinter's skills, they're a big part of the spectacle too. There's got to be plenty of give and take I think. So much going on in those sprints, once you start picking up on every infringement where will it end? Imagine a Lee Mason or Mike Dean dealing with it, the whole thing would become a farce in no time.