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German rider Pascal Ackermann won the ninth stage of the Vuelta a España on Thursday despite finishing second behind Irishman Sam Bennett, who was relegated for shoving an opponent on the shoulder twice in a highly contested finish to the race.
Bennett overtook Ackermann in the group sprint at the end of the 157km flat stage from Castrillo del Val to Aguilar de Campoo and celebrated as he crossed the line, but the victory was snatched away as footage showed him breaking into the Latvian Trek corridor -Segafredo, Emils Liepins.
There were no changes to the overall standings and Richard Carapaz maintained his overall lead as second-placed Primoz Roglic quickly recovered from a puncture to cross the line with the other overall contenders.
Patrick Lefevere, Bennett’s Deceuninck Quick-Step team principal, was furious against the decision on social media, but Ackermann felt justice had been served. “It was not a fair action of him [Bennett]. I think that after all the crashes of the last week, we have to take care of each other, ”said the German.
“I’m sorry for Sam, but now we have to be more fair. I am very happy for this victory and also for my team, they did an incredible job today, they did everything from the front and I am happy to be able to give them something back.
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