Lefevere threatens to remove entire Deceuninck-QuickStep team from Vuelta a San Juan
Deceuninck-QuickStep manager Patrick Lefevere has reacted angrily to the decision to exclude his rider Iljo Keisse from the Vuelta a San Juan, saying that he would like to pull his entire team out of the race.
The race organisers confirmed on Tuesday evening that Keisse had been disqualified from the race after a waitress working in a San Juan café filed a police complaint against the Belgian. She alleged that he pressed his crotch against her when he feigned a sexual act while she posed for a photo with him and his teammates.
Lefevere is not at the race but suggested that he would be willing to pull the whole team out of the race, even with Julian Alaphilippe in a strong position to claim the overall title after back-to-back stage wins.
"If it depended on me, the whole team would leave the Vuelta a San Juan,” Lefevere told Belgian publication Het Laatste Nieuws. "We are reviewing what the UCI regulations say, and then we will quickly decide whether we will start or not.”
- Vuelta a San Juan organisers expel Keisse after woman files police complaint
- Keisse apologises for 'stupid moment' after woman files police complaint
- Deceuninck-QuickStep say Keisse incident was meant as 'a joke'
- San Juan woman files police complaint against Keisse
News about the photo and the police complaint broke on Monday evening and it was later confirmed that the case would appear before court. Keisse issued a public apology on Tuesday afternoon but was handed a 3,000 peso fine (€70/£60).
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