Astana fires back after Lutsenko Is disqualified from Tour of Hainan: "We don’t blame him"

Alexey Lutsenko was disqualified on Thursday during the third stage of the Tour of Hainan. The Kazakh rider from Astana Qazaqstan allegedly deviated from his line during an intermediate sprint, causing a massive crash. The race jury found the incident serious enough not only to fine or relegate Lutsenko but to completely kick him out of the race.

Lutsenko was positioned as the team leader in Hainan, aiming to collect some much-needed UCI points for Astana. The climbing started on day three, but Lutsenko's adventure ended abruptly. After an intermediate sprint, he was pulled from the race. Astana expressed surprise at this decision in a press release. "Indeed, there was an unfortunate race incident where Alexey made contact with another rider, resulting in a crash. But these things happen; it's quite normal in cycling. It was an incident, and the jury could have imposed a penalty, but to remove him from the race? We completely disagree with that," said team manager Alexandre Vinokourov.

There is no footage of the crash, so we must rely on the statements from the Kazakh team. "Alexey did nothing to warrant disqualification. We regret that this happened, but we don't blame him." In an interview with Tutto Bici, sports director Dmitri Sedun gave a similar account: "During a race, hundreds of riders change direction because they look to the left or right. They could have given a fine or a yellow card, but it was clear that Lutsenko didn't see the other guy. Should we disqualify the entire peloton then? We didn't even get a chance to speak with the jury; they just called to inform me."

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Disqualification is yet another setback for Lutsenko

Finally, Lutsenko also shared his side of the story, and unsurprisingly, his take wasn't much different. "I find it a strange decision. I would have understood a fine or a demotion, but disqualification... This isn't fair. It took me 24 hours to get here, and now I'm done after three stages. Over the top? Yes, absolutely. I hope the rider who fell is okay, but to me, the decision is definitely an overreaction."

Because of this decision, 2024 continues to be a disastrous year for Lutsenko. He did win the Tour of the Abruzzi earlier this season, but apart from an eighth-place finish in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, he has been far from the form that brought him 43 (!) career victories in the past. Lutsenko was in tears after he withdrew from the Tour de France. He had to quit due to illness. He recently made headlines again with his transfer to Israel-Premier Tech, with whom he will race in 2025 for the first time for a team other than Astana.