Gilbert reacts angrily to what he deems dangerous feed-zone practice
18 October 2018 02:01
Quick-Step Floors' Philippe Gilbert has reacted angrily to a video posted on Twitter by BMC that shows a soigneur stepping across the central markings and into the left lane of the road to hand food bags to their riders, when normal practice should be to stand on the edge of the right lane. Ahead of the BMC soigneur, a Dimension Data member of staff can be seen in the video doing the same thing during the rainy stage 2 of the Tour of Guangxi in China on Wednesday. It's not uncommon for team 'carers' to encroach into the road to try to hand their riders musettes, but Gilbert clearly believes the soigneurs in the video are literally overstepping the mark.ADVERTISEMENT "This scene should be sanctioned by the UCI," Gilbert wrote on Twitter. "I will never understand these assistants standing on the left side of the road to give the feedbags. They make us risk a lot!" Gilbert is racing with Quick-Step at the Tour of Guangxi, and would therefore have first-hand experience of passing through the feed zone in the video. The 36-year-old Belgian returned to racing just last month after fracturing his kneecap in a crash at the Tour de France in July. The UCI rules on the matter – section 2.3.026 – state: The food and drink shall be distributed on foot by the staff accompanying the team and by no-one else. They shall be positioned on one side of the road only, which must be the side on which road traffic circulates in the country concerned. — PHILIPPE GILBERT (@PhilippeGilbert) October 17, 2018
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