 Controversy arose when it was noted that his bike continued to freewheel when he was on the ground after the crash, spinning as if the back wheel was propelled by an engine.However, the fact that the cranks were not turning on their own as the bike was on the ground and a video posted by former teammate Alex Rasmussen demonstrating how the event could happen to any bike cast doubt upon the conspiracy theory.Hesjedal stated the claims were 'ridiculous and funny', and won the combativity award after that stage.