Three French riders receive time penalties as well
Portuguese rider, Manuel Cardoso of Footon-Servetto, got his season off to a sensational start in January with a sprint victory over Alejandro Valverde and Cadel Evans in Stage 3 of the Tour Down Under. Fast forward to June and things aren’t going quite so well. Cardoso was disqualified from the Dauphine on Saturday after being caught hanging on to a vehicle on the final ascent of Alpe d’Huez. Such disqualifications normally seem to be rare occurrences, but Cardoso’s disqualification along with Chris Froome’s at the Giro two weeks ago, makes for a decidedly DQ-happy fortnight.
Cardoso wasn’t the only rider to be hit by the race officials on Saturday either. Three French riders, all of whom finished in the top 20 on the stage, were also penalized, but not banished from the race. Two riders from Francaise des Jeux, Christophe Le Mevel and Remy di Gregorio, as well as Euskaltel’s U23 World Champion Romain Sicard, were all slapped with a 20 second time penalty on general classification for taking unauthorized feeds on the final climb.