Tour de France: Marcel Kittel says Mark Cavendish should have been stripped of stage 14 sprint win
By Matt Westby
Last Updated: 16/07/16 8:31pm
An angry Marcel Kittel said Mark Cavendish should have been stripped of his victory on stage 14 of the Tour de France for veering off his racing line.
Cavendish started his sprint in Kittel's slipstream but then came surging past on the German's left before swerving slightly right as he neared the line.
Kittel threw his arm up in protest and the race jury analysed the finish, but they saw no wrongdoing and the result stood.
"I started my sprint, I was on the inside, really well positioned," Kittel said. "Then, just before the line, he moved to the right, touched my shoulder and I had to brake.
"It wasn't fair. The decision of the jury wasn't correct. I'm pretty p*****. But I don't want to point the finger at Cavendish; he's a great champion."
Cavendish insisted he had done nothing wrong and claimed Kittel was just as much to blame for veering to the left after being overtaken.
He said: "Obviously, I didn't see it because I was in front. The first I knew of it was when I was waiting to give the flash interview at the finish.
"It's a coming together, but if you look, we are next to the barriers and it's him coming off the barriers more than anything.
"I haven't spoken to him. He hit me on the back after but I thought he was saying, 'Well done'."
The Tour continues on Sunday with a mountainous, 160km 15th stage from Bourg-en-Bresse to Culoz. Find out more about the route in our race guide and follow the stage with our live blog from 12pm BST.
