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He's an asset that missed the tour in '16 because he broke his hand in a punch up, and had as many fights with fellow cyclists last year as he did stage wins.
Sounds like they're sick of his shit and not placated by winning a stage of the tour de Yorkshire instead of turning up at the tour de france in good shape and without bringing more headlines for punching people or flipping out at his own team car...
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He had a horrific crash at the Tour of Yorkshire, the lingering effects of which undermined his Tour preparation.
All sprinters have disagreements with other riders, it comes with the territory. They also tend to be aggressive characters off the bike too. Everyone cites the fight he had prior to the 2016 Tour as evidence of his character, but he was never charged with a criminal offence.
I do wonder if the criticism he gets is partly driven by his North African heritage.
andyp
He wins races. Lots of them. He’s tenth on the active riders victory ranking that PCS maintain, ahead of riders like Vivianni, Demare, Dengenkolb etc.
Those wins aren’t just in shitty little races either, he’s won Giro and Vuelta stages and consistently wins at WT level.
Cofidis should treat him like the asset he is, not publically shame him via the press.