2006 Eneco Tour

In the last final meters, Stefan Schumacher got hit by an arm from a supporter and as a result made an awkward move away from the supporters to the middle of the road, which resulted in George Hincapie falling down. Before the move it looked like Schumacher was going to become second and Hincapie third, which would make Hincapie the winner with an advantage of 1 second. Since Hincapie crashed he did not take any bonus seconds for ending in the top three and because Schumacher managed to restart his sprint and end third he took 4 bonus seconds and so won by 1 second. The jury took about twenty minutes deciding if Schumacher should be removed to the back of the peloton but in the end they concluded that Schumacher did not make the move on purpose and thus Schumacher won the Eneco Tour 2006. Some reactions:

• Dirk Demol, sports director of Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team: "If you look at the replay, you can clearly see that George Hincapie was surely going to end in second or third place. Even if he was going to be beaten by Schumacher in the sprint and end third, he would still be first in the overall standings. Surely we will issue a complaint."
• Stefan Schumacher: "I'm not happy right now, it's a shame it has to end this way. For my career it's a big step, because it's my biggest win so far, but still I'm not happy right now.
• Croatian jury president Bruno Valcic: "It was a tough decision for us, but Schumacher clearly got hit by a supporter and surely did not bring George Hincapie down on purpose."

Stage 7 Result Cyclist Team Time 1  Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Française des Jeux 5h 05' 16" 2  Manuele Mori (ITA) Saunier Duval–Prodir 2" 3  Stefan Schumacher (GER) Gerolsteiner 2"

General classification after Stage 7 Cyclist Team Time 1  Stefan Schumacher (GER) Gerolsteiner 27h 20' 55" 2  George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 1" 3  Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Liquigas 12"