Some absolutely brutal drafting of a car by the winner at the Tour of Bulgaria

Matteo Malucelli of Japan’s JCL Team Ukyo clinched victory at the 71st International Cycling Tour of Bulgaria on Thursday, but the real drama unfolded in Stage 5 with Martin Papanov’s controversial win. Papanov, racing for the Tzar Simeon Team, crossed the finish line of the final 123 km stage from Sliven to Gabrovo with a 12-second lead over the peloton, which was led by Malucelli. Dominik Neuman of ATT Investments finished third, registering the same time as Malucelli. Giovanni Carboni, also of JCL Team Ukyo, who had been leading the general classification, crashed and lost time.

I understand a bit of help for the local riders but this was too much. 👎 Not good at all for the image of cycling. Martin Papanov wasn’t DSQ by UCI despite some blatant car drafting in the last kms of today’s stage in Tour of Bulgaria. Bad decision.#TourofBulgaria pic.twitter.com/YBGPemi8HZ

— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) August 29, 2024

Formal complaint to jury about brutal drafting

After the race, Malucelli and Carboni confronted the commissaires, accusing Papanov of being pulled by a car during the descent into Gabrovo. JCL Team Ukyo filed a formal complaint, but after over two hours of deliberation, officials decided to keep the results as they were.

How to cheat in a time trial

As a result, Malucelli was awarded the yellow jersey, with Papanov initially taking second place overall, and Carboni moving down to third. Tensions continued at the podium ceremony, where both Malucelli and Carboni refused to shake Papanov’s hand and mocked him as he stepped up to the winner’s position. In an update on ProCyclingStats.com, it seems the officials reversed this decision.

Officials reverse decision

“Initially, Martin Papanov crossed the line first with a time of 2:59:14. However, after the race ended, he received a 20 second time penalty, applied to the stage results, as per article 2.12.007bis of the UCI regulations,” a note read. “He dropped to 15th in the stage results and 8th in the GC.”

It’s unclear why the race lead car would do something so flagrant – it obviously isn’t a good look since the rider was racing in his home country.

At the end of the day the biggest loser was the official stage winner himself. The other riders on the podium didn’t want to shake his hand and mocked him after the finish. I’ve felt bad for him. 😓 The race jury was much more guilty than him. #TourofBulgaria pic.twitter.com/8SQUXgaecK

— Mihai Simion…