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Jumbo-Visma have defended the mechanical assistance given to Wout van Aert in the finale of E3 Saxo Classic, arguing that it’s a common occurrence even if it’s technically against the rules.
Van Aert was seen drawing up alongside his team car with 22km to go, just ahead of the final climb of the Tiegemberg, with a mechanic soon hanging out of the window to pay apply lubricant to his chain.
Van Aert went on to win the race in a three-up sprint against Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar.
The UCI regulations state that “the greasing of chains from a moving vehicle shall be forbidden” with the punishment for the rider being a fine and “elimination or disqualification”.
No sanctions were handed out by the race jury, either to Van Aert or any member of Jumbo-Visma team staff, after E3 Saxo Classic.
Speaking to Cyclingnews after the race, lead director Arthur Van Dongen, who was in the car that was servicing Van Aert, brushed off any sense of controversy.
“I’m 33 years a DS already. I do 150 races every year, and I saw it already in 100 races every year,” Van Dongen said.
“It’s ok that people make a big story about it on social media, but that’s not up to us. It happens a lot, but not often on television. It’s like that.”
Van Dongen confirmed that Van Aert felt his chain was “cracking” and called for lube from the team car, insisting there was no sporting advantage.
He went on to argue that the UCI rulebook – which has come under fire for perceived inconsistencies – should not be black and white, instead retaining some degree of subjectivity.
“The jury made a good decision and don’t kill cycling, because he has really no advantage from that. If we bring him back behind the car or whatever, then we say ok eh, but this was not the case,” Van Dongen said.
“There are a lot of rules in the book but, in my opinion, you have to play with the rules. You have to say ‘ok, is it an advantage? Does it play important role in the race? Yes or no’. You have to work with it.”
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