Ahead of the spring classics, the UCI commissaires promised zero tolerance on bike/foot path riding due mainly to the dangers posed to spectators.
And on Luke Rowe, come down hard they did.
The ruling, happening as it did in the latter stages of the race with around 60 kilometres to go, seems based on the incident in the video above.
"Just absolutely gutted," Rowe tweeted after the race. "There was a big flick in the line and I was on the end of it."
"It was either crash or go onto the bike path. In a split-second decision I ended up on bike path, braked, and made my way back to the road when it was safe to do so.
"They told me on the radio and I pulled out straight away. The commissaires made a decision which I can't agree with but I gotta live with this, accept it and move on."
If the commissaires' decision is based on this incident, it's hard not to fault Rowe's reasoning especially as there were other riders doing what he did in this and other instances throughout the race.
Yet the Brit was the only rider disqualified for this infringement.
Rowe said the decision was even harder to take because he felt his form finally returning after six months' recovery from a smashed tibia and fibula sustained whitewater rafting last August.
"In a nutshell I'm just gutted."
