22 March 2017
After the events that happened following the team time trial of the Volta a Catalunya, with a one-minute penalty being eventually imposed over the eight riders that claimed victory on the stage yesterday, the Movistar Team wants to express its complete disagreement towards the sanction received.
It’s a penalty due to an infringement which we consider absolutely non-existent. The rider performing the action does not “push” his team-mates, but touches the back of them with his right hand to warn them that they must take his position into the team row, a fact that doesn’t influence the race’s outcome at all.
We deeply regret that a sporting event sees its results distorted by the application of a rule which punishes pushing between team-mates, something which, as shown by the images, was not the case yesterday. We consider this sets a dangerous precedent for the future, since any touch between riders from now on will have to be punished.
Rojas, back number #4, puts his hand for less than a second on his team-mates’ back: 50 hundredths of a second on Amador, back number #3 (from 42’51″55 to 42’52″05, Movistar Team’s racing time -lower end of pictures-), and 80 hundredths of a second on Oliveira, back number #7 (from 43’17″18 to 43’17″97).
His right-hand arm remains in the same position, which shows that he only tries to warn his team-mates so they take their position into the row.
Click here to watch the video: http://video.eurosport.es/ciclismo/el-video-de-la-polemica-en-la-volta-a-catalunya-los-empujones-de-rojas_vid965679/video.shtml
