Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarché) criticised rivals and race officials after he was twice forced off his sprint line in Stage 1 of the Tour of Algarve on Wednesday, finishing sixth in a bunch sprint in Tavira that produced no relegations from the race jury.
Paul Magnier (Team Picnic PostNL) won the 185.6km stage from Vila Real de Santo António, beating Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Pavel Bittner (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) to the line. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) placed fourth.
De Lie said he entered the final turn in fifth position but was impeded twice in quick succession, first by an Alpecin-Premier Tech rider and then by Bittner, forcing him to check his sprint to avoid crashing.
"I'm not going to say much, but I invite people to look at the images of the last kilometre to get their own idea of how this final unfolded," De Lie said to DH Les Sports+, speaking while winding down after the finish. "They will quickly see who holds their line or not."
The Belgian said the pattern extended beyond Tavira. "In Almería and at the Clásica Jaén, it was already the same type of scenario. It seems like a fall is necessary for there to be a sanction," he said. "Today, fortunately, that was not the case, but I believe the cycling gods must be with me because I should have been on the ground."
The sprint was complicated by a strong headwind and a roundabout inside the final 2km that narrowed the road, compressing the bunch and intensifying the fight for position. Multiple teams contested the lead-out, with Soudal-QuickStep controlling much of the final kilometre to deliver Magnier to the front.
No riders were relegated from the stage results. Race commissaires can relegate riders for irregular sprinting, but no such action was taken.
The Tour of Algarve continues with Stage 2 on Thursday.
Cover image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com
