Luke Rowe (Team Ineos) and Tony Martin (Jumbo-Visma) have been kicked off the 2019 Tour de France after the end of Stage 17 following an incident between the two road captains during the day's race. The incident was seen by the race cameras and shown in the race day highlights, and also caught the attention of the race commissaires.
At the end of the stage Rowe appeared calm when he spoke to the television crews, dismissing the incident as nothing and saying things were 'all good' between him and Martin.
However, the race jury talk another view of the incident and ejected both riders from the race.
With three full racing days left (plus the merry dance around Paris on Stage 21), both riders' teams will miss their strongman enforcers.
Rowe has been a key part of most of Team Sky/Ineos's previous Tour wins while Martin's sheer power will be missed by Steven Kruijswijk as he aims for the final podium in Paris this Sunday.
Whoever does finish in yellow or on one of the podium's lower steps will need to get over 11 more categorised climbs including two summit finishes in the next three stages.