From Andy Shlecks FB:
Alberto Contador and Team Saxo Bank has decided to enter a protest against the loss of time on the first stage of the Tour de France..
Contador came in goal 1:20 after the stage winner Philippe Gilbert, and they now want a reduction to 34 seconds..
In the event that a rider or riders suffer a fall, puncture or mechanical incident in the last 3 kilometres and such an incident is duly recognised, the rider or riders involved are credited with the same finishing time of the rider or riders they were with at the time of the incident.
They are attributed this ranking only upon crossing the finish line. If after a fall, it is impossible for a rider to cross the finish line, he is given the ranking of last in the stage and credited with the time of the rider or riders he was with at the time of the incident. For exceptional cases, the decision taken by the stewards committee is final.
This measure does not apply to:
• finishes of the 2nd stage, which is a team time trial and of the 20th stage which is an individual time trial;
• summit finishes of the 4th, 8th, 12th, 14th, 18th and 19th stages.
That’s Article 20 copied and pasted from the 2011 Tour de France rulebook.
