Tour De France 2021 - 'A touch of naughtiness about that' - Sonny Colbrelli secures sprint points despite Matthews move

ByIbrahim Mustapha

Updated 04/07/2021 at 15:03 GMT

There was a hard-fought battle in the chase for Green Jersey points on a rainy Stage 9 of the Tour De France as Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Victorious) and Michael Matthews (BikeExchange) both looked to reign in Mark Cavendish. You can watch the Tour de France live and ad-free on the Eurosport app and Eurosport.co.uk.

Sonny Colbrelli secured maximum points if his pursuit of the Green Jersey but the Stage 9 intermediate sprint was not without incident.

The Bahrain Victorious rider chased down Michael Matthews who had been pulled up to the front by BikeExchange team-mate Chris Juul-Jensen to lead the sprint.

However, as the Italian looked to take his rival on his right shoulder, Matthews drifted across the road, almost sending Colbrelli into the barriers.

Tour de France

Woman who caused Tour de France crash fined 1200 euros

09/12/2021 at 16:27

The 31-year-old was able to stay upright and squeeze through and take the points but shot the Australian a glare as the two crossed the line.

• Van der Poel pulls out of Tour de France to focus on Olympics
• Roglic abandons Tour de France after wretched Stage 8

Mathews was at risk of relegation over the move but was unpunished when the official verdict came through.

“There’s a touch of naughtiness about that move” said Carlton Kirby on commentary.

“Colbrelli will have a word about that.”

“He did make quick a lot of movement from left to right so I’ll be surprised if he got away with that one” said Sean Kelly.

“Rules are rules and if there’s any consistency in cycling, that move is banned. We’ll see what the Commissaires say about that later.” argued Brian Smith.

Eurosport team discuss Mathews-Cobrelli Intermediate sprint incident on Stage 9

Result of the intermediate sprint at Praz-sur-Arly (km 32.7):

1. Sonny Colbrelli - 20 pts
2. Matthews - 17 pts
3. Alaphilippe - 15 pts
4. Teuns - 13 pts
5. Küng - 11 pts
6. Juul-Jensen - 10 pts
7. Mollema - 9 pts
8. Perez - 8 pts
9. Hamilton - 7 pts
10. Higuita - 6 pts
11. Poels - 5 pts
12. Guerreiro - 4 pts
13. Gesbert - 3 pts
14. Konrad - 2 pts
15. Quintana - 1 pt

The result puts Colbrelli on 106 points in the Points Classification, 62 behind Mark Cavendish, who is on 168.

Should Matthews keep his points, he will be in second place with 130.

- -

You can watch the Tour de France live and ad-free on the Eurosport app and Eurosport.co.uk. Download the Eurosport app for iOS and Android now. You can also watch the most comprehensive live & ad-free racing on GCN+.. Go deeper and get interactive with live polls & quizzes, plus rider profiles, race updates, results & more – plus stream exclusive cycling documentaries.

Tour de France

Paradise for Pogacar? All you need to know about the 2022 Tour route - Blazin’ Saddles

14/10/2021 at 22:06

Tour de France

Spectator who caused Tour de France pile-up on trial in Brest

14/10/2021 at 12:34

Tour de France

Sagan signs two-season deal with Team TotalEnergies after leaving Bora-Hansgrohe

03/08/2021 at 18:13