Commentators stunned as rider Huub Artz is pulled over mid-stage at Tour de France 2026 - 'That is ridiculous'
Updated 10/07/2026 at 00:26 GMT+1
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Dutch rider Huub Artz was spoken to by Tour de France commissaires over his riding position in the breakaway on Stage 6 on Thursday afternoon, prompting a furious reaction from the TNT Sports commentary team.
Blythe blasts Tour de France intervention - 'What a load of tripe'
Video credit: TNT Sports
Artz (Lotto Intermarche) had escaped alongside Victor Campenaerts (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) on the road from Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre before unexpectedly pulling alongside the race jury car for an animated exchange.
Television pictures showed one of the race officials gesturing about Artz's riding position, shortly before the Dutchman dropped away from his fellow escapees and drifted back towards the peloton.
It was not immediately clear exactly what had been said, or whether Artz had been instructed to alter his position or abandon the breakaway.
Replays appeared to show Artz riding with his wrists resting on the handlebars and a couple of fingers hooked around the brake hoods - a position that looked similar to Campenaerts in the same shot.
The incident left Adam Blythe astonished. "That is ridiculous," Blythe said.
"The worst thing is they've told him to go back. They need to look at every single rider in every single breakaway because there are numerous riders that hold on with one little finger a lot."
He added: "You could wheelie a bike with one finger wrapped round the hoods. Literally, just one little finger, you can wheelie a bike. And they're worried about him riding on a flat road with two fingers sitting on like this."
Matt Stephens questioned whether Artz had actually been ordered to drop back.
"Maybe he's just like, 'this is ridiculous, this is the way that I ride. I'm going back. I'm just fed up.' I think it was more of a protest," wondered Stephens.
TNT Sports' roving reporter Jens Voigt later spoke to staff in the Lotto Intermarche team car, who explained that the issue centred on the position of Artz's hands.
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Highlights: Pogacar takes Stage 6 after dominating the Tourmalet
Video credit: TNT Sports
"The point of conflict was the position of his hands. He had them inside the handlebar, underneath the brake levers to get his shoulders more narrow, to get more aero on the bike," he said.
"If you have your hands down there, you cannot really control your bike and reach for the brakes.
"Apparently, it is clearly written in the UCI rules that the position of your hands, your point of contact with the bike and the handlebar, should enable you to control your bike, steer the bike and touch your brakes.
"When you have the hands underneath them, you're aero, but you cannot really control the bike in a way the UCI wants you to be able to do."
Artz was never a serious contender for victory on Stage 6, which saw Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) detonate on the Tourmalet en route to reclaiming the yellow jersey.
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