John Degenkolb sprays Jens Debusschere in face with water bottle in frustration (video)

German John Degenkolb vents frustration at Belgian team during men's road race at the 2016 World Championships

What are you doing @johndegenkolb 😇#UCIDoha2016 pic.twitter.com/7dpwGXkySc

— CyclingHub (@CyclingHubTV) 16 October 2016

John Degenkolb showed his frustration during the elite men's road race at the 2016 UCI Road World Championships in Qatar on Sunday, spraying a Belgian rival with water from his bottle.

Degenkolb had missed the crucial split in the peloton as the race headed south from Abu Yazoul. The Belgian team had instigated the split by riding hard at the front of the bunch into a section with strong crosswinds.

Several big names were caught out and missed the lead group, including the German team's big hitters: Degenkolb, André Greipel and Marcel Kittel.

>>> Five talking points from the World Championships men’s road race

Degenkolb had tried to work at the front of the group to bridge back up to the leaders but found himself without much assistance other than from his own German team-mates. As Degenkolb accelerated, to try and up the pace he looked back only to see Belgian Jens Debusschere sat at the front of the group, slowing things down.

Evidently frustrated at the lack of his own progress and Debusschere's effort to impede any sort of organisation in the chase, Degenkolb removed his bidon from his bike, took a swig and than coasted up beside the Belgian. Degenkolb then proceeded to spray water directly into Debusschere's face.

Rather than lose his temper and retaliate, Debusschere appears to calmly wipe his face and carry on.

Degenkolb and Kittel called it a day with around 40km to go, both exhausted and suffering from the heat.

Ultimately, despite all of their effort in breaking up the race, Belgium missed out on the victory too. Peter Sagan (Slovakia) sprinted to win ahead of Mark Cavendish (Great Britain), with Tom Boonen flying the Belgian flag in third.

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Nigel Wynn
Former Associate Editor

Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.