UAE Team Emirates discussed the possibility of cheating in the sprint with the race judges after Tadej Pogachar missed the podium at the end of the Tour of Flanders.

Pogachar (open in new tab) was joined by Mathieu Van der Pol (open in new tab) (Alpecin Phoenix) and Dylan Van Baarle (open in new tab) (Ineos Grenadier) who suddenly joined from behind in the last 300 meters, Valentin Maduas (Grupama-FDJ), who had a sprint battle with him and finished in fourth place.

The Tour de France champion raised his arms in apparent admonishment as he crossed the line. After crossing the line, he continued to gesture, clearly unhappy.

Pogachar initially did not stop to speak to the media, but later spoke from the steps of the team bus, diplomatically dismissing the controversy.

At the same time, however, UAE coach Fabio Baldato rode Pogachar's bike from the bus to the finish area. He admitted to Cyclingnews that he had conferred with the race jury.

Baldato suggested that the movement of van Baar and Maduas was an acceptable "limit," but the matter did not go any further.

"I couldn't see the sprint from the car, so I wanted to be sure. The race commissaire took me to the video room and I saw the sprint," Baldato told Cycling News.

"The commissaire had the same idea as me. The guys in front of us had almost stopped, and they came all the way up to the front.

"It was a normal sprint for them, so I can't complain. I just wanted to make sure. I was at my limit, but this is racing."

Baldart confirmed that he had heard from Pogachar about the incident and that he was going to investigate.

"He said, 'Did you see it?' But this is normal. It's not the first time I've gone to a jury to check a sprint,

"When you see Tadej go like this [waving his arms], it's that situation. I'm fine, but I wanted to make sure. That's why I went to the commissaire. That's part of my job."