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Italian federation probes 'tow' claims against Milan-San Remo winner Arnaud Démare

FDJ.fr rider accused of hitching a lift on team car up the Cipressa before his win

Italy’s national cycling federation, the FCI, is conducting an investigation into claims that FDJ.fr rider Arnaud Démare took a tow from his team car on the Cipressa on his way to winning Milan-San Remo in March – something he and his team manager strongly deny.

The Frenchman was among several riders to crash shortly before the penultimate ascent of the race nicknamed La Classicissima di Primavera, but managed to rejoin the main group ahead of the Poggio before sprinting to victory ahead of Team Sky’s Ben Swift on the Via Roma.

> Arnaud Démare wins 2016 Milan–San Remo

But after the race, Tinkoff’s Massimo Tosatto claimed to have seen the winner benefiting from an illegal tow to rejoin the peloton. He told La Gazzetta dello Sport: “On the Cipressa he had been dropped, then he came past us at twice our speed holding onto his team car.

“I didn’t see if he was holding onto the window or a sticky bottle. Then, in the sprint he was strong. But without that tow, he’d never have been in the sprint. I’ve never seen anything like that done in such a shameless manner.”

His allegations were corroborated at the time by fellow Italian Eros Capecchi of Astana.

Speaking once more to La Gazzetta dello Sport at the weekend’s Big Start of the Giro d’Italia in the Netherlands, Tosatto confirmed he had been contacted by the FCI as part of their investigation and had exchanged emails with the governing body about the episode.

“I don’t want to start another row, I’ve nothing against him and he’s certainly a great rider,” he said of Démare, adding: “I’m not sorry for what I said, because I saw it.”

But Tosatto went onto say: “I came out of the episode badly because after San Remo I took part in the Tour of Catalonia and at the hotel met some riders from his team who attacked me.

“I have nothing to apologise for, and I’ll keep my head high.”

Démare has said that if he had broken the rules, he would have been punished, and his team manager, Marc Madiot, told the Italian newspaper at the weekend that as far as he was concerned, “the issue is now closed.”

But he was more expansive in an interview published today on CyclingPro.net, saying he believed the accusations against his rider were due to sour grapes on the part of Italian rivals.

“I believe certain people have trouble coming to terms with the idea of a French rider on a French team winning a Monument like Milan-San Remo,” he said.

“I think if it were a rider from a major foreign team in the same situation, there wouldn’t have been all this fuss.”

He added: “From the moment the UCI commissaries, the recognised judges, validate the result of the race, [the issue] is closed.

“The day after [the race] Arnaud Démare generously released his Strava data – I say ‘generously’ because he wasn’t obliged to do that – which showed he never rode at 80 kilometres an hour on the Cipressa, which is what Tosatto seems to be saying.”

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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7 comments

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Jimmy Ray Will | 8 years ago
1 like

I'm not sure how I feel about this story.

On one level, I don't like the idea of people taking blatant tows, however equally, I appreciate that this is professional sport and certain actions that go on behind the scenes are best left behind the scenes.

Was it the tow that the testifying riders felt was beyond the pail, or was it that Demare won?

If its the latter, then there is nothing for Demare to answer... Tows back from crashes, or whatever are accepted in the bunch as being part of the professional circus. 

its not nice, but when that tow is to recover from mis-fortune, rather than to gain an advantage, I see little foul taking place.

I for one, would be gutted if I punctured in a road race and was then offered no assistance in getting back to the bunch. 

Avatar
newtonk replied to Jimmy Ray Will | 8 years ago
0 likes

its not nice, but when that tow is to recover from mis-fortune, rather than to gain an advantage, I see little foul taking place.

I for one, would be gutted if I punctured in a road race and was then offered no assistance in getting back to the bunch. 

Come on Jimmy - if this attitude were to pervade you'd have every sprinter throwing themselves off the bike or manufacturing 'mechanicals' before the final climb in order to get a tow back to the bunch and be fresh for the finale. A tow up the final or penultimate climb (which is usually taken at a pretty brutal pace) is not just a helping hand from misfortune, it's also a MASSIVE advantage over those who are bursting their legs & lungs to stay in the hunt.

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stenmeister | 8 years ago
1 like

I find it hard to believe the testimony of a rider from a team known to have harboured dopers in the past and which nearly lost it's Grand Tour licence.

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Rapha Nadal replied to stenmeister | 8 years ago
0 likes

stenmeister wrote:

I find it hard to believe the testimony of a rider from a team known to have harboured dopers in the past and which nearly lost it's Grand Tour licence.

Oh, I know, there's nothing like judging the actions of one based purely on the actions of others in the past.  He MUST be guilty then.

Avatar
brackley88 | 8 years ago
3 likes

Cosmo Catalano, of How the Race was Won has an interesting additional input on this. Peter Kennaugh of Sky went down in the same crash and can be seen to remount as fast as Demare does. Kennaugh arrived back with the lead group about the same time as Demare. You can see this on race coverage on Cosmo's race analysis video. 

I am NOT saying Kennaugh also got a tow by the way. 

It is just interesting to note that another rider from the same crash was able to chase on at about the same pace as Demare. This also does not mean that Demare did not get a tow. He may have had a tow that saved his legs but did not give him lots of time. 

But it is an interesting observation..

Avatar
nortonpdj | 8 years ago
0 likes

 2 Italian riders claim to have seen the alleged incident. Are they the only witnesses?

If it was a case of blatant cheating and other riders saw it, then they owe it to the sport, to the other riders, and to themselves, to come forward. I don't believe they all rode up the Cipressa with their eyes closed. So if it happened, there were several, not just 2, witnesses.

 

Avatar
markovich | 8 years ago
0 likes

Isnt there any footage from motorbikes available? If the team present his data then they could clear his name or are they not required to do so?

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