Lidl-Trek rider Julien Bernard has acquired a effective of 200CHF (£174) after he pulled up together with the street and embraced his household on stage seven of the Tour de France.
The French rider was sanctioned for “unseemly or inappropriate behaviour in the course of the race and harm to the picture of the game”, based on the race jury’s report.
The second got here in the course of the day’s time trial, which completed in Gevrey-Chambertin, only a 20-minute drive from Bernard’s residence. On a climb midway by the route, the 32-year-old was greeted by lots of of poster-wielding followers, in addition to his spouse and son.
Upon seeing his household, Bernard unclipped from his pedals, put a foot on the ground, and kissed his spouse. He then continued his effort in opposition to the clock, ending 61st, three minutes and 11 seconds down on the stage winner, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Fast-Step).
Commenting on his effective after the stage, Bernard wrote on X: “Sorry UCI for having broken the picture of the game. However I’m prepared to pay 200CHF on a regular basis and relive this second.”
All of the love for Julien Bernard 🥰@lidltrek #TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/b34LEYwgJNJuly 5, 2024
The Frenchman was surrounded on the end line by digital camera crews in Gevrey-Chambertin, the place he advised the media it had been a “loopy stage” for him.
“I had been ready for it for months,” he mentioned. “In trendy biking, it is not straightforward to cease and see your loved ones, however right here, with a time trial, it was good, as a result of I might take time to savour it. And I savoured it.
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“[Stopping to see my wife] is a second that can solely occur as soon as in my life, so I needed to get pleasure from it as a lot as attainable. She’s the one who organised every thing. We’ve to thank her for that.”
Bernard’s effective was not probably the most extreme dealt by the race jury on Friday. Arkéa-B&B Lodges rider Kévin Vauquelin, winner of stage two, acquired a 500CHF (£435) sanction for an offence on stage six labelled “assault, intimidation, insults, threats, incorrect behaviour or behaviour that’s indecent or that endangers riders”.
The time trial introduced a small shake-up within the GC, with Evenepoel taking again 12 seconds on yellow-jersey-wearer Tadej Pogačar (UAE Workforce Emirates), who now leads by 33 seconds.
Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) misplaced 25 seconds to Pogačar on the day, and holds his third place, now one minute and 15 seconds down.
