UAE and Tudor explain how Mathys Rondel broke team car’s rear window

In heavy rain and hail on the road to Potenza, the damaged car immediately raised questions when it appeared in the broadcast. The explanation came later: Tudor rider Mathys Rondel had collided with the back of the UAE vehicle while trying to make his way back to the peloton after a puncture.

The 22-year-old Frenchman was able to continue and later finished safely with the main group of general classification riders. After the stage, Tudor confirmed that Rondel had escaped serious injury.

“Mathys is ok,” Tudor sports director Matteo Tosatto told In de Leiderstrui. “I was not there myself, but from what I understood it happened just after a descent. Mathys was coming back after a flat tyre. You arrive there frozen, and then suddenly a car stops in front of you.”

According to Tosatto, Rondel had been riding close behind the vehicle as part of a routine chase back through the convoy. “Mathys was right behind the car because he was coming back. It is a typical race situation, the kind you see so often,” he said.

Tudor were not looking to assign blame. Tosatto made it clear that neither Rondel nor UAE had been at fault. "It is nobody’s fault,” he said.

UAE sports manager Joxean Matxin Fernandez, who had been driving the team car, also gave his account after the finish. He explained that the UAE vehicle had stopped on the right side of the road because another team car, had come to a halt ahead of them.

“It was a complicated day for everyone,” Matxin said to In de Leiderstrui. “At the moment we stopped the car on the right, because a Lidl-Trek car had stopped in front of us, it was not only raining but also hailing. We were waiting until we could move again, and then suddenly a rider came from behind.”

Matxin said the most important news came quickly. “We immediately heard that he was ok, and Tosatto confirmed that too. We asked about him straight away,” he said.

The UAE driver also stressed that the impact did not happen at high speed.

“Luckily it was not at a high speed. I think around 25 kilometres per hour,” Matxin said. “And I think our window broke because he hit it with his helmet. He did not go through the window. The most important thing is that he is ok.”

Rondel later reached the Tudor bus without visible damage and was seen warming down on the rollers after a quick change.