The latest episode of the Cyclingnews podcast was going to be based around Matteo Trentin and his win on stage 17 of the Tour de France but then Tony Martin and Luke Rowe decided to steal the limelight by having an altercation on the final climb of the stage.

The result of which was a disqualification for both riders after Martin tried to run Rowe off the road and the Ineos rider decided to retaliate by providing Martin with a close-up inspection of his right hand. The UCI regulators didn’t take to kindly and booted both riders out of the race.  There was a joint video from Rowe and Martin in which they apologized but unless the UCI overturn their decision - and that’s unlikely - both Ineos and Jumbo Visma will start stage 18 with a man less. This evening the Cyclingnews team headed straight to the Team Ineos hotel to soak up the atmosphere and try and talk to the riders and staff. The latter proved impossible but we debate the race rules, ask if Team Ineos have a discipline problem and discuss how the loss of two key riders effects the race going forward. 

Don’t forget you can win a signed EF-Education First jersey from this year’s Tour de France. To be in with a chance just subscribe to our podcast on Itunes or Podbean. We’ll pick a winner later in the race.

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