Gianni Moscon, who had been disqualified from the Clune Brussel Kuhne, returned to the Team Ineos bus and remained there.

The Italians did not want to talk about the indiscretion, so the team's lead director, Gabriel Rasch, was asked to give his perspective on the matter.

After the race, Rasch spent some time with the judges, reviewing footage of Moscon picking up his bike after being involved in a crash and throwing it at Jens Debouchard.

"Basically, they wanted to show the pictures on a big screen. There are small TVs and cell phones in the car and you can't see 100% of what happened," Rasch told Cyclingnews and The Cycling Podcast.

"I agree with the decision.

Asked if there was any indication that he was going to sue the defense, Rasch said, "No."

"No," he replied succinctly.

Moscon's disqualification is the latest in a series of disciplinary issues, leaving the team with a new headache over how to handle the 25-year-old Moscon.

Moscon was also disqualified from the 2018 Tour de France for punching another rider and was disqualified from the 2017 World Championships for clinging to the team car; at the 2017 Tour de Romandie, he went on a racist rant against fellow rider Kevin Reza, and later that year Later in the year, he was accused of crashing Reza's teammate Sebastian Reichenbach, breaking his hip and elbow.

After the incident with Reza, Team Ineos suspended Moscon for six weeks and put him in diversity training, albeit at a time when he had few races scheduled. After his punch at the Tour, he was suspended for five weeks by the UCI. Meanwhile, in the Reichenbach case, he was cleared due to lack of evidence.

"We have to talk to him now and that is something we are working on and will have to continue to work on.

"It's about supporting him and doing the right thing so it doesn't happen again.

Asked why these punishments keep coming out, Rush replied: "It's a hard question. I don't know. It's something that really shouldn't happen and we have to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Moscon's actions not only damaged his own and the team's reputation, but also the team's chances in the race itself. Team Ineos was largely responsible for the late race push of lone attacker Kasper Asgreen, who won the race by only three seconds from the pack. Had they had an extra leg, Ben Swift might have sprinted for seventh place or better.

"I'm not sure what happened. I heard over the radio that he was disqualified, but I didn't know what for," Swift told Cycling News.

As for the weakening of the team, his disappointment was evident: "This is the worst situation. This is the worst situation.