Geez, did I miss another day? Could that be because there is almost nothing to report? Not like much has changed today, but Belgian ‘cross star Bart Wellens did somehow manage to kick an abusive fan while riding away to victory (and, see for yourself, it was some Matrix-style sh!t). Cyclingnews reports here that the Race Jury was “appauled”, but upheld the Belgian’s victory nonetheless. I for one welcome this decision – so long as racers don’t go charging out into the crowds Ron Artest style, they ought to be able to defend themselves against unruly spectators who violate the course, either bodily or via projectile, as was the case for Wellens. They could call it “Wladimir’s Law,” after the luckless Italian, who was disqualified from the 2001 Giro for punching a fan. Sure, riders like Richard Virenque, Marco Pantani and Andy Hampsten have been punching fans for years, but Belli had the misfortune to sock Simoni’s l’il nephew (who’s also related to Francesco Moser).
Hmmm, an appropriate name for the law would be “Casius Belli”…..
I disagree with you on the Wellens case. We only have Wellens’ word that anybody was hurling more than words at him. I did not see any of that happening in the coverage. On the other hand, the kick was violently aggressive with steel cleats at throat height. Disgraceful to resort to that sort of action. His (temporary) disqualification was very appropriate, IMO. The jury coming back on their decision afterwards, whilst they even tried to prevent Wellens from entering the last lap, now that’s appalling too.
ED