‘That penalty would have been unfair’ - Biesterbos backs Philipsen after Tour sprint controversy

Alpecin-Premier Tech general manager Philip Roodhooft says riders inevitably carry "baggage" into disciplinary decisions after Jasper Philipsen's relegation on stage 11 of the Tour de France was overturned by race commissaires.

Philipsen was initially relegated from third place after race commissaires ruled he had committed an irregular manoeuvre during Wednesday's bunch sprint in Nevers in an incident with Frits Biesterbos (Picnic PostNL).

Alpecin-Premier Tech requested an explanation, and after the jury reviewed the incident, the decision was ultimately overturned, and Philipsen was reinstated to third on the fastest road stage in Tour history behind Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility) and Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM).

Speaking ahead of Thursday's stage 12, Roodhooft said he believed race officials aim to judge incidents objectively but acknowledged that riders do not arrive at every decision with a clean slate.

"We assume that objectivity forms the basis for the assessment, but you carry baggage with you. That is the case in every sport," Roodhooft told Sporza.

"Perhaps that played a role, but it speaks all the more to their credit that they listened and realised they had unfairly pinned the blame on someone who didn't deserve it."

Roodhooft emphasised his satisfaction that the jury made the decision to overturn their original decision.

"The impact was quite significant. It was a shock, but we made the right decision to seek an explanation from the jury," he said. "Only stupid people don't change their minds, and the process was handled professionally."

He also rejected the idea that Alpecin had convinced the officials to reverse the ruling.

"I wouldn't put it that way. The jury realised for themselves that they had made a hasty decision."

Philipsen admitted he was initially unsure as to why he had been penalised in the finale of Thursday’s stage, but that the jury’s decision to reverse the decision spoke for itself. 

"I didn't quite know what had gone wrong, but everything happens very fast in a sprint," he said. "It's always easy when you analyse the footage afterwards, but of course, it has to be done. I have no influence over the decision itself."

"Probably," he said when asked whether the officials had reached the right conclusion. "Otherwise, they wouldn't have decided to do so."

Meanwhile, Biesterbos also backed the overturning of the original decision, saying he did not feel that the incident was anything beyond normal sprinting contact and that a penalty would have been harsh.

"As I saw it, nothing unusual happened," the Dutchman said. "I felt him come into my side, but it was a normal sprint. That penalty would have been unfair to Jasper."

With the incident behind him, Philipsen will now look to build on his first podium finish of this year's Tour as he targets what is expected to be the final pure bunch sprint opportunity of the race on stage 12.

The traditional final sprint in Paris is no longer guaranteed, with the inclusion of the Côte de la Butte Montmartre on the final stage.