Lewis Askey and Benoît Cosnefroy clashed throughout and after the dash that determined stage 2 of the Tour du Limousin-Périgord, with the French rider accusing Askey of dangerously bumping him in the direction of the boundaries after which grabbing his jersey past the end.
Race officers later punished Cosnefroy for venting his anger, solely compounding the AG2R Citroën rider’s anger and frustration.
Luca Mozzato (Arkéa-Samsic) received the dash from the entrance, with Askey and Cosnefroy combating for his wheel. The Groupama-FDJ rider moved up late and tried to get on Mozzato’s wheel forward of Cosnefroy. The 2 banged shoulders after which hips as they fought for Mozzato’s slipstream, with Cosnefroy bumped near the uncovered toes of the boundaries.
Past the end line, Cosnefroy slapped Askey on the again in anger after which grabbed his jersey and shook him. That led to the UCI commissaires giving Cosnefroy a 100 CHF wonderful for “unsporting behaviour that damages the picture of the game.”
Cosnefroy was not comfortable about Askey’s driving. “Closing me on the surface is one factor, okay, it’s a part of racing, however doing it on the within and placing me into the boundaries could be very totally different,” Cosnefroy instructed L’Equipe tv after the dash.
“This isn’t the Tour de France the place the boundaries don’t have toes, right here it’s extra harmful. We already take sufficient dangers and are sacred for our lives. In a high-speed dash, a transfer like that’s scary.
“There have been bonus seconds in play on the end, however that doesn’t excuse the whole lot. I’m annoyed as a result of I had the legs to win.”
Askey completed second within the dash forward of Cosnefroy and shortly tried to clear the air with the Frenchman by going to the AG2R Citroën workforce bus.
“I went to the bus to talk to Benoît after the race. We’ve shaken palms. No dangerous blood.” he posted on Instagram.
Benoît Cosnefroy agacé envers Lewis Askey après la ligne : « C’est son job de me mettre dans la boîte, il n’y a aucun problème. Mais entre me mettre dans la boîte pour que je ne passe pas et me mettre dans les pieds de barrières, il y a une différence. » #lequipeVELO #TDL2023 pic.twitter.com/lMGzJu8lA0August 16, 2023
