Richie Porte’s time penalty at the Giro d’Italia, handed out after stage ten when the Australian suffered a late puncture and received a wheel from Orica-GreenEDGE’s Simon Clarke has prompted a big reaction from both current and former riders on Twitter.
The Team Sky man saw his GC hopes dealt a huge double blow, not only losing time as a result of the puncture but then dropping down to 12th overall after the punishment from race commissaires – after the Giro’s own media team had hailed the act of sportsmanship earlier in the evening.
Porte has received widespread support after the incident though, with both current and former riders advocating a protest from the peloton ahead of stage 11 and even rival team manager Oleg Tinkov, whose leader Alberto Contador wears the maglia rosa, questioning the severity of the punishment.
And while some observers have questioned whether it was just Aussie mateship rather than sportsmanship, support for Clarke and Porte has come from across the globe – Portugal’s 2013 world champion Rui Costa and Swiss legend Fabian Cancellara among those disappointed by the punishment.
We’ve collected some of the best reaction below. What’s your opinion? Let us know in the comments below.
