Ewan, Alpecin-Deceuninck fined for drafting after Tour de France crash

Thursday's stage 13 brought more misery at the Tour de France for Lotto Soudal sprinter Caleb Ewan, who finished 20 minutes down after a mid-stage crash followed by an ultimately failed chase back to the peloton.

However, the Australian's travails also had an effect elsewhere in the race. Alpecin-Deceuninck eventually giving up the chase behind the break after Lotto Soudal had faded away from the front of the peloton with no sprinter to work for.

The Belgian team also suffered a 1,000CHF (€1,015) fine – along with a 500CHF fine for Ewan – for their car's part in assisting the rival sprinter in his chase.

Ewan, who was later listed in the Tour's medical report as having suffered a 'left knee trauma' could be seen following closely at the rear of one of the Alpecin-Deceuninck cars following his crash 72km from the line. A UCI motorbike commissaire noticed, too, animatedly gesticulating (see the video below) at team directeur sportif Michel Cornelisse as the vehicles sped along.

Cornelisse's team would eventually be fined twice – once for helping Ewan 'shelter behind or take advantage of the slipstream of a vehicle', and once again for 'failing to respect the instructions of the organiser or commissaires'.

Speaking after the stage, Cornelisse told Dutch TV station NOS that he had nowhere to go as Ewan tailed his car, as he was blocked in by police motorbikes.

"I don't know why that man was making such a fuss," Cornelisse said. "I see crashes happen all week and riders are allowed to return behind the car, so I thought 'why not?' There was no team car around [for Ewan] so I wanted to take him.

"Then the commissaire came and I tried to accelerate but there were two police motorbikes in front of me. I was already going at