Ben O'Connor's Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale were handed four yellow cards on stage 11 of the Vuelta a España, for "obstruction by by a rider to prevent or delay the movement of another rider or vehicle".
The French squad were also fined for their part in an incident during Wednesday's stage when they attempted to stop any more riders from going up the road to join the break, in a clear move to protect O'Connor's position in the red jersey. Had the break swelled to more than 39, the fear would have been that more riders might have moved up overall, endangering the race lead.
