Controversial end to Tour
Germany?s Stefan Schafer was the winner of the 17th Cycling Tour of Hellas on April 17, but his victory was shrouded in controversy as his Greek rival, Yiannis Tamouridis, who ended up second, claimed foul play from the part of the winner.
Tamouridis was the runaway leader up to almost the end of the third stage on April 15, when a German cyclist on the same team as the winner, Niklas Arndt allegedly caused him to fall just before Delphi and lose precious ground.
The 30-year-old Greek said that «this was a kamikaze move. He came straight at me and although he could see me he would not change his course.”
Schafer, of the LKT-TEAM Brandenburg team, was therefore able to cut the distance from the Greek and to overtake him over the weekend to finish first after the last stage, held on April 17 in rainy Athens. He finished five seconds ahead of Tamouridis, who suggested that had there been video evidence of what happened outside Delphi the result would have been very different.
Despite the rain over the weekend, the race was a great success, according to its organizers, featuring 110 cyclists from 90 countries. Another Greek, Polychronis Tzortzakis, ended up sixth, winning the youth category.
