Tour de France rider fined for stopping to kiss wife during time trial
For future participants of the Tour de France, while you are out of the race course, keep your affectionate behavior to yourself.
French cyclist Julien Bernard found out the hard way when he was fined 200 Swiss francs (231 American dollars) by the International Cycling Union (UCI) after stopping to kiss his wife and son during the stage seven time trial of the Tour de France.
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Around the 15-minute mark of Friday's time trial, Bernard's wife and two-year-old son were on the road with other family members when he pulled over to greet them.
The UCI didn't think that show of affection was cute, saying in a statement that Bernard's "unseemly or inappropriate behaviour during the race and damage to the image of the sport."
“Sorry, but what was that? I love you so much. I’m sorry UCI for damaging the image of the sport,” Bernard said in a message posted on X. “But I’m willing to pay 200 Swiss francs every day and experience this moment again.”
Bernard finished the stage in 61st place, three minutes and 11 seconds behind Remco Evenepoel, the stage winner.
"I had been waiting for it for months," Bernard said to television cameras after the race. "In modern cycling, it's not easy to stop and see your family, but here, with a time trial, it was perfect, because I could take time to savour it. And I savoured it.
"[Stopping to see my wife] is a moment that will only happen once in my life, so I wanted to enjoy it as much as possible. She’s the one who organised everything. We have to thank her for that."