{"id":253197,"date":"2026-07-16T09:48:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T09:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/16\/they-dont-know-the-difference-between-a-cow-and-a-horse-former-top-sprinter-criticises-tour-de-france-jury-after-philipsen-relegation-debacle\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T09:48:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T09:48:09","slug":"they-dont-know-the-difference-between-a-cow-and-a-horse-former-top-sprinter-criticises-tour-de-france-jury-after-philipsen-relegation-debacle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/16\/they-dont-know-the-difference-between-a-cow-and-a-horse-former-top-sprinter-criticises-tour-de-france-jury-after-philipsen-relegation-debacle\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;They don&#8217;t know the difference between a cow and a horse&#8217; \u2013 Former top sprinter criticises Tour de France jury after Philipsen relegation debacle"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p id=\"elk-8df02d0a-80f9-11f1-897c-a1b90d143ed7\">Former sprinter Eddy Planckaert had some pretty direct criticisms of the UCI jury after the saga that saw <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/jasper-philipsen-relegated-from-third-in-tour-de-france-stage-11-sprint\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/jasper-philipsen-relegated-from-third-in-tour-de-france-stage-11-sprint\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/jasper-philipsen-relegated-from-third-in-tour-de-france-stage-11-sprint\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jasper Philipsen relegated then reinstated<\/a> for a move during the sprint finale of stage 11 at the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tour-de-france\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tour-de-france\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tour-de-france\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tour de France<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Soon after the stage to Nevers concluded, Philipsen \u2013 who had finished third \u2013 was relegated, seemingly for a pair of movements that saw him collide with Picnic-PostNL sprinter Pavel Bittner and then slightly elbow NSN&#8217;s Biniam Girmay.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-root\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-8df02d0a-80f9-11f1-897c-a1b90d143ed7-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">However, after his team went to the commissaires to appeal the decision and the jury reviewed video footage, Philipsen was relegated back into third place and didn&#8217;t receive so much as a warning, let alone the initial relegation and yellow card.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-6 w-full overflow-hidden rounded-[10px] lg:my-8\" data-component-name=\"JwPlayer:Carousel\" data-jwp-carousel=\"\" data-jwp-carousel-payload=\"{&quot;ids&quot;:{&quot;playerID&quot;:&quot;jYDCcabO&quot;,&quot;searchPlaylistID&quot;:&quot;gwjdoYHD&quot;,&quot;divID&quot;:&quot;botr_gwjdoYHD_jYDCcabO_div&quot;,&quot;fallbackPlaylistID&quot;:&quot;gwjdoYHD&quot;,&quot;fallbackDivID&quot;:&quot;botr_gwjdoYHD_jYDCcabO_div&quot;,&quot;key&quot;:&quot;X9\\\/mXVGac0NphghLH9hZaqWA5d3dhAM\\\/Ih07grnEyMLjuO2E&quot;,&quot;tintLogo&quot;:true,&quot;useSearchPlaylist&quot;:false,&quot;enabled&quot;:true},&quot;signPostingEnabled&quot;:true,&quot;signPostingLinkEnabled&quot;:true,&quot;waitForAdLoad&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnDesktop&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnMobile&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnTablet&quot;:false}\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-nowrap items-center justify-between gap-3 bg-zinc-900 px-[14px] py-3\" data-jwp-carousel-header=\"\">\n<div class=\"flex min-w-0 shrink items-center\"><span class=\"inline-flex items-center gap-1.5 text-sm font-article-heading capitalize leading-5 text-white whitespace-nowrap\"><span class=\"jwp-carousel-title-mobile\"\/><span class=\"jwp-carousel-title-desktop\">Latest Videos From<\/span><span class=\"jwp-carousel-brand inline-flex items-center\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"aspect-video w-full min-h-[200px] lg:min-h-[330px] relative overflow-hidden bg-black\" data-jwp-carousel-container=\"\">\n<div class=\"absolute inset-0 size-full items-center justify-center bg-white\" data-jwp-carousel-fallback=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/flexiimages\/gmvwmhupgi1715762145.svg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/flexiimages\/gmvwmhupgi1715762145.svg\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] max-h-12 w-auto\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Despite the decision ultimately being reversed, Planckaert was highly critical of the relegation being handed out in the first place.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cI once said to someone in the Tour who was giving me a penalty, and I\u2019m going to say it again: they don\u2019t know the difference between a cow and a horse,&#8221; the former green jersey winner said on Flemish channel <em>VRT<\/em>&#8216;s post-stage <em>Vive le V\u00e9lo <\/em>show.<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pt-2 pb-0 mb-4\">\n        <span class=\"&#10;            flex&#10;            after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t after:border-solid after:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t before:border-solid before:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            font-article-heading pb-0 text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,1em)] uppercase sm:text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,0.875em)] font-bold&#10;        \"><br \/>\n            You may like<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;You really need people there who know something about it. There need to be two sprinters there who have an idea. A sprinter would never disapprove of that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Planckaert argued that Philipsen&#8217;s perceived aggression was an acceptable part of sprinting, and not necessarily inherently dangerous.<\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-HzN3Bt9eMYig6c9PHVKXGT\" class=\"slice-container newsletter-inbodyContent-slice newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-HzN3Bt9eMYig6c9PHVKXGT slice-container-newsletterForm\">\n<div data-hydrate=\"true\" class=\"newsletter-form__wrapper newsletter-form__wrapper--inbodyContent\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form__container\">\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__top-bar\"\/>\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__main-section\">\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;He&#8217;s up against professionals,&#8221; he said. &#8220;If you do this to a recreational cyclist or someone with no experience, they\u2019ll be on the ground. But someone who is trained, come on.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;If you get disqualified for that, well guys\u2026 Then you have to only organise time trials or mountain stages. This just isn&#8217;t right. Imagine being in a situation like that, going at sixty or seventy kilometres per hour and stressed out just to reach the finish line, and there&#8217;s a minor incident.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Some other commentators called into question the consistency and fairness of sprint rules, with Philipsen&#8217;s short-lived relegation a step up from the warnings that some of his rivals have received for similar moves already this Tour.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Retired Australian sprinter <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/riders\/caleb-ewan\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/riders\/caleb-ewan\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/riders\/caleb-ewan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Caleb Ewan<\/a> said that a certain level of pushing and fighting is necessary to fight for position, and perhaps there isn&#8217;t enough consistency, and perhaps even extra surveillance on Philipsen, who has been relegated at the Tour before. However, Philipsen&#8217;s directeur sportif Philip Roodhooft was fairly diplomatic about that suggestion.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I think consistency is the key to every rule. If it&#8217;s not applied for everybody in the same way, then it creates trouble,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But I don&#8217;t think anybody has a special eye on Jasper, I think it&#8217;s too far to think that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><em><strong>The world\u2019s biggest bike race deserves world-class coverage. Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our unrivalled reporting of the 2026 Tour de France. From Barcelona through to Paris, our experienced team will bring you breaking news, expert insight, and in-depth coverage from every stage as the battle for the yellow jersey plays out. Plus, access the Cyclingnews app to follow the action on the go! <\/strong><\/em><a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=PreTDF26\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=PreTDF26\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=PreTDF26\" rel=\"noopener\"><u><em><strong>Find out more.<\/strong><\/em><\/u><\/a><em\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/they-dont-know-the-difference-between-a-cow-and-a-horse-former-top-sprinter-criticises-tour-de-france-jury-after-philipsen-relegation-debacle\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former sprinter Eddy Planckaert had some pretty direct criticisms of the UCI jury after the saga that saw Jasper Philipsen relegated then reinstated for a move during the sprint finale of stage 11 at the Tour de France. Soon after the stage to Nevers concluded, Philipsen \u2013 who had finished third \u2013 was relegated, seemingly [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":253198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6804],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-253197","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}