Overview

• Martinez grabbed onto his Bahrain Victorious team car’s water bottle during Stage 18’s Col du Glandon climb to secure 20 mountain points.
• The jury sanctioned him on July 25 for multiple instances of car pulls during bottle exchanges that breached race regulations.
• Penalties include an eight-point deduction in the mountains classification, a ten-second time penalty, a 200 CHF fine and the removal of 15 UCI ranking points.
• The sanctions dropped Martinez to third in the polka dot jersey standings behind Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, leaving him just seven points ahead of fourth-place Thymen Arnsman.
• Widespread criticism from Le Parisien and former riders such as Thibaut Pinot and Cyril Saugrain has followed the ruling, and Martinez’s team has yet to announce whether it will lodge an appeal.