Giro d'Italia: Setback for Richie Porte from Team Sky in the fight for the Maglia Rosa of the Giro d'Italia. The racing jury gave him a two-minute time penalty. Tempers ran high on the internet.
Porte – so far third in the overall standings, 22 seconds behind leader Contador – had a broken front wheel about 10 kilometers from the finish. The Australian Simon Clarke (Orica Green-Edge) also stopped, gave his compatriot his front wheel and pushed him. Together with four Team Sky colleagues and another Orica-Green Edge driver - possibly Michael Matthews - Porte chased after the peloton, but was unable to prevent a loss of time. At the finish he had lost 47 seconds to his biggest opponents in the fight for the pink jersey.
But that's not all: in the evening announced the jurythat Porte and Clarke each received a fine of 200 Swiss francs and a two-minute time penalty because the regulations only allow drivers from the same team to help each other. Porte is now 3th overall, 9 minutes and 12 seconds behind leader Contador.
Spicy thing: just a few hours earlier was on the official Facebook page of the Giro d'Italia support across team boundaries has been hailed as a sign of "the best sport in the world". Tempers ran high on the internet. The decision of the race officials was hotly debated. Such regulations would trample on the concept of fair play, it said in a comment. There has also been speculation as to whether the riders could show their solidarity with Porte and Clarke by swapping front wheels across teams in tomorrow's stage in order to restore the old time gap. One thing is certain: This decision will be met with fierce hostility.
