Italian cyclist Vincenzo Nibali has been thrown off the Vuelta a Espana after he was deemed to have been towed back into the pack on Sunday.
Stage two stirred up controversy when television images showed the 30-year-old hanging on to the back of his Astana team car following a crash.
Nibali - the 2010 champion - and the car then both accelerated rapidly as he chased down the pack in the final 30 kilometres to Caminito del Rey.
A statement from head commissaire Bruno Valcic read: "The film is very clear, it shows that Nibali has put his hand on the car for 100 metres.
"So the penalty for this is very clear. The decision of the commissaires is very clear, Vincenzo Nibali has been disqualified from the race."
Alexandre Shefer, who was driving, has also been ejected for his part to leave Astana with just one more team car left ahead of stages three and four.
The duo were also both fined 200 Swiss Francs each.
Shane Callaghan
