Geraint Thomas' hopes of defending his Tour de France title have suffered a major blow after his road captain Luke Rowe was thrown out of the race.

Rowe was expelled along with Jumbo-Visma's Tony Martin after the pair clashed during stage 17.

Video appears to show Martin almost riding Rowe off the road and the Welshman retaliating by grabbing the German.

Rowe has apologised for damaging his team's chances in the race.

"To come here with this team, a bunch of good mates, I feel like I've let them down and of course let myself down.

"We were both trying to do a job. Maybe we both overstepped the mark slightly, but it feels harsh to be thrown off the race, both of us.

"Neither of us deserve that. There are a lot of people supporting you, watching you. It's pretty hard."

Team INEOS chief Dave Brailsford has described the decision to expel both riders as "severe".

"They've made the decision to expel Tony and Luke from the race, which feels incredibly harsh if I'm honest.

"I've just had a watch of the clip. There's no doubt about it, Tony cut up Luke a little bit, he's kind of fought for his position a little bit.

"It's nothing more than you see most days of the race. It's a pretty harsh decision.

"I think a yellow card would have been merited but a red card, for both riders, in fact, feels a bit severe to me."