Vuelta a Espana: Chris Froome says Team Sky team-mates should have been eliminated on stage 15
Tuesday 6 September 2016 19:26, UK
Chris Froome believes all of his Team Sky team-mates should have been eliminated from the Vuelta a Espana for finishing outside of stage 15's time limit.
Ninety-three riders crossed the line at Aramon Formigal later than the cut-off, which was set by the race jury at 31 minutes from the moment Gianluca Brambilla sealed stage victory.
They included all seven of Froome's remaining team-mates, six riders apiece from Etixx - Quick-Step and Lotto Soudal, five from Orica-BikeExchange and the whole of Direct Energie's team.
However, eliminating them would have left only 71 riders in the race, so the jury gave them a reprieve on the grounds that it would have a "negative" impact on cycling's image.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday's rest day, Froome said: "I didn't make that decision. That was the jury's decision. We weren't the only team; there were 90 riders. If you look around the peloton, Direct Energie wouldn't have had any riders left.
"Personally I believe the rule probably should have been upheld, although I understand the jury's decision and the jury is there to make those decisions. If the rule is there, it's there for a reason."
One rider finished 10 minutes behind the limit and another was 15 minutes late, but the other 91 rolled in more than 22 minutes after the cut-off.
Alberto Contador had two team-mates who were reprieved but is emphatic in his belief that all 93 riders should have left the race.
He said: "I compared my power meter two days ago with that of my team-mate Jesus Hernandez, who was in that group, and he did exactly less than half the effort I did.
"Afterwards, in a day like yesterday or tomorrow, that will be noticed. It is much easier to understand if you are one or two minutes over the limit after giving your maximum.
"However, if you finish out of the limit by so many minutes because you were riding too calmly, we either have to send a warning or make a rule, because it isn't acceptable."
The Vuelta resumes on Wednesday with a 177.5km 17th stage ending with a summit finish at Camins del Penygolosa in Llucena. Find out more about the route in our race guide and follow the action with our live blog from 1pm BST.
