There is a YouTube video floating around taken at the final stage or the Tour of Turkey(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8K_7bJQaaI&feature=related) in which Theo Bos and race leader Daryl Impey (he's the one in the yellow jersey) tangle and go down. What is interesting about this video is that, depending on your perspective, this is either an intentional, very aggressive move or it is just a racing incident with a unfortunate ending.

If you think that Theo Bos is the devil incarnate than the site of him apparently grabbing Impey's jersey and pulling him down is about the worst act of sportsmanship since Mike Tyson decided to snack on Evander Hollyfield's ear. If this is the case, should Bos be suspended for a year or even longer? Can he ever be allowed back into the pro peloton?

If you think Theo Bos was caught in an unfortunate racing incident then you interpret his grabbing of Impey's jersey as a desperate move to try to stay upright. Sprint finishes can get pretty darn crazy and if you watch the width of the barriers change you can see why Bos might have gotten caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

There is a rule that riders are not allowed to take their hands off the bars in the middle of the sprint. Alex Stieda, the first North American to wear the Tour's yellow jersey, once lost the overall title at Britain's prestigious Milk Race because he took his hands off the bars to celebrate a not-so-close sprint victory. The partisan British officials relegated him to the back of the breakaway group with the win going to one of their countryman. But, as we all know, officials almost never penalize a rider for celebrating a sprint win.

However, in the 1970's Franz Verbeeck was disqualified from winning Ghent Wevelgem when he punched out a rider in the sprint. Clearly stuff happens in sprints.

Personally, it looks to me like Bos was just trying to keep himself upright and unfortunately ended up bringing down Impey as well. The fact that Bos crashed as well seems to rule out that he was trying to get past Impey by pulling on his jersey (this was a common practice a generation ago). The fact that Impey was the race leader puts a bigger spotlight on the incident.

The good news is that even though Impey crashed he was given the same time as the stage winner and ended up winning the Tour of Turkey.  What do you think happened?

Bruce