The 2006 Tour of Britain ended with simmering resentment between the British riders and their European counterparts.
World champion Tom Boonen won the final stage yesterday, beating Great Britain leader Roger Hammond and T-Mobile's Isle of Man-born rider Mark Cavendish in a sprint for the line.
But the Belgian had to defend his part in a rider protest which delayed Saturday's stage by more than an hour.
Boonen played a lead role in the go-slow from Rochester to Canterbury, but then faced criticism as his Quick Step team-mate Francesco Chicchi took the stage win after enjoying an easy ride over what should have been a challenging course.
John Herety, manager of the all-British team Recycling.co.uk, claimed the Italian would not have been in a position to win if the Peloton had been racing hard through all 153 kilometres of a stage which included some testing climbs.
"He couldn't get over a railway bridge," said Herety.
Boonen was uncomfortable with his role as the Peloton's unofficial spokesman.
But he insisted Chicchi had only attempted to go for the stage win after British riders had broken an agreement not to race before a certain point in the stage.
"The British riders were the ones who started to sprint," said Boonen.
"I have my own opinion, but Chicchi can do what he wants."
Huddersfield's Ed Clancy, competing for the Belgian team Landbouwkrediet, believes the protest had less to do with concerns over safety and more to do with the bad weather in Kent in a race in which some of the European riders resent competing.
He said: "It's 100% unacceptable. They just couldn't be bothered to race.
"British cycling has a lot to be proud of and they have shown no respect to our tour."
British cycling did produce a winner with Cavendish securing the green points jersey with his third-place finish yesterday.
