Lotto Dstny and Maxim van Giles issued a full apology after the Belgian crashed into another rider at the finish of Saturday's Japan Cup Qualifier.
Van Giles (23) was captured on camera delivering a head slap to the rider, widely identified as Greek racer Giorgios Bugglas, just as two people, part of the main Peloton, were crossing the line.
Boograss finished in 8th place, while Van Gilles was ranked 10th in the criteria held in Utsunomiya, near Tokyo, which serves as the curtain raiser for the main race of this weekend's Japan Cup Road race. Van Gils was chosen by Lotto-Dstny earlier this week as part of their line-up 1.HC-ranked events.
"We sincerely regret the actions of Maxim Fangils of the riders at the Japan Cup Criteria," the Lotto-Dstny statement read. "Maxim and his team want to apologize for his gesture at the end of the race.
"I deeply regret what I did and have already apologized to the race judges," Maxim says. "They give me a fine (50CHF) and I will lose some UCI points."The gesture was a reaction to another rider's dangerous behavior, but I know what I did was wrong. It was a reaction in the heat of the moment, but it was the wrong one, and I should not have beaten him and put my hand on the handlebar.
"I accept the UCI penalty and apologize for what I did. This is also an important lesson for the future to calm yourself in this situation and react in the right way after the race."Professional since 2021, Virgil The best result so far was a victory on the Saudi tour in 2022. He also took 2nd place on the stage at Grand Colombier this summer in the Tour de France.
The 2023 Japan Cup Criteria itself was won by Edward Zounes (Lidlă»Trek) for the 3rd time in his Belgian career.
X/MarkContador
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