Michael Matthews (Jayco Arla) was demoted to third place at Sunday's Tour of Flanders after he deviated from the line in the group sprint for second place behind lone winner Mathieu Van der Pol (Alpecin Desseuninck).

"Unfortunately Michael Matthews was demoted and missed the podium. A heartbreaking end to a great run," Jayco Arulla posted on social media after the race.

The chase group, which finished 1:02 behind Van der Pol, caught Alberto Bettiol (EF Education - Easy Post) and Dylan Tuns (Israel - Premier Tech) on the finish straight and then sprinted for the small podium. Luca Mozzato (Arkea-B&B Hotels) took second place in the sprint, with Matthews in third.

However, after reviewing the sprint, Matthews was demoted for deviating from the line. He allegedly deviated from the line early in the sprint and moved from the left end of the road to the right end so that he could not be passed by Nils Pollitt (UAE Team Emirates).

The relegation put Pollitt on the podium in fourth place.

According to UCI Rule 2.3.036, riders are strictly forbidden to deviate from the lane they have chosen to start the sprint and endanger others.

Jayco AlUla director Matt Heyman later issued a statement regarding the official's decision to demote Matthews.

"I'm pretty disappointed," Heyman said. 'It's a roller coaster of emotions. Michael had a great final. Whether he gets demoted or not ...... his race in the final, he took it in stride. He fell back in Koppenberg and lost a lot of ground, but then he rallied and gave it everything he had.

"He started his sprint early to try for second place. He finished third, but unfortunately we have to abide by the judges' decision."

Het Laatste Nieuws reported that the Australian team's protest against the decision was unsuccessful.

In an interview shortly after crossing the finish line in second place, Mozzato commented that the decision of race officials to demote Matthews "didn't look that bad to me."

"In my opinion, it was a sprint race, and I didn't know he was disqualified [demoted - editor's note]," Mozzato said.

"Sometimes you have to change direction, but I didn't feel that bad."

Pollitt revealed after the race that he was surprised to learn that he had been moved up to third place and was already on the team bus when Matthews' demotion was confirmed.

"I was on the bus when I got the call that we were in third place. I'm very happy with this result. To be on the podium in Flanders is something special. It's my second monumental podium after Roubaix. I am very happy. I think as a team we deserve to be on the podium.

Asked if the officials made the right decision in demoting Matthews, Pollitt said, "I haven't seen the sprint yet. All I can say is that he was going too fast and had to brake a little bit. I have to check. It was a commissaire's decision, but I feel bad for Matthews. It's hard to be on the podium and then be demoted."

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