good morning!
Sometimes sports governing bodies get a little bit wacky and start fining players for all sorts of silly things. In football, for sure. So too with American football, home of the “No Fun League” as some people call it.
But let’s turn our attention today towards the Tour de France (Spoiler: this won’t be the first time I mention the Tour this week):
One of the greatest Tour de France moments this year came from French cyclist Julien Bernard, who rides for Lidl-Trek.
For those who don’t know, crowds tend to gather very, very close to the riders throughout each stage. It brings for some scary and dangerous moments. This one, though, brought one of the sweetest.
Bernard was riding during one of the race’s two time trials that just happened to take place in Burgundy, close to where he lives and trains. He knew he would have some extra support along the way, with his wife and friends somewhere along the climb, he told ITV.
So Bernard pushed extra hard in the opening stages of the time trial so he could share a lovely moment with his wife. Check it out.
It seemed more of a homecoming than a race, but it was very sweet.
Not to the authorities though, who fined Bernard a little over $200 for “unseemly or inappropriate behavior during the race and damage to the image of sport”. Part of that was reportedly because he physically stopped during the time trial.
Yeah, okay, that last part kinda makes sense and I get they have to set a precedent here. But, c’mon! Seems like the jury became more of the love police here.
He took it in stride, though, saying he’d pay the fine every day to relive the moment.
Fitzie’s track of the day: Honeycrash, by Sasami
And now for your links:
Alasdair Gold: One problem Ange Postecoglou has with Tottenham squad
Micky van de Ven previews Netherlands-England