Alpecin-Deceuninck left reeling after Philipsen's unexpected relegation: "This hit us hard"

Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Deceuninck had a tough day. The Belgian was beaten on merit by Dylan Groenewegen in the sixth Tour stage to Dijon, and then, to make matters worse, he was also relegated in the standings due to a maneuver against Wout van Aert.

The Visma | Lease a Bike rider made his feelings clear afterward, speaking to the press, including IDLProCycling.com. "Jasper boxed me in. I think everyone could see that. It's a bad habit of his. In my opinion, he crossed the line. It wasn’t super dangerous because I was able to brake in time. But I was sprinting alongside him. When you drive someone towards the barriers... I don’t really understand that. It’s not like you don’t feel someone coming."

"Am I angry? I’m actually mostly glad that I stayed upright. Disqualification would be an appropriate punishment for me. Leaving the race wouldn't be necessary, though," Van Aert said unequivocally.

Review the clip for yourself via the video below.

Philipsen himself, after being beaten by Groenewegen, angrily headed to the bus, where he received the news of his disqualification. Christoph Roodhooft, the team director for Alpecin-Deceuninck, spoke to the press on behalf of the team. "We received a call from the UCI and have already reviewed the sprint ourselves. I don’t think it was a maneuver that 100% justifies the relegation. It's very clear that the boarding isn’t straight and that Wout was holding back when he moved back onto the road."

"This hit us hard," continued Roodhooft. "First, there was the disappointment from the previous sprints, and now this." The fact that Van Aert was so clear in his words toward Philipsen had not yet reached the bus of the competitors at that point. "I haven't read what he said, but I assume the UCI will not be influenced by the words or reprimands of competitors."

What now? Philipsen also takes a significant hit in the fight for the points classification. "Until the disqualification, we were very close again, and now it suddenly seems far away," said Roodhooft, who, along with lead-out Mathieu van der Poel, spoke encouraging words to his team leader.