The world of cycling had one of its best moments this week when French rider Julien Bernard stopped his time trial at the Tour de France to kiss his wife and son.
The world cycling governing body (UCI) fined him $223 for “unseemly or inappropriate behaviour during the race and damage to the sport’s image” but his reaction to the fine was epic.
In a post on Twitter, he apologised to the UCI for “having damaged the image of sport” but said he was willing to pay the fine “every day and relive this moment“.
Locals had been galvanized to celebrate Julien during stage 7 of the time trial which is a short course of 23.3km (14.5 miles) and is one of two time trials in the race – where cyclists race against the clock for the best time.
On reaching the top of the hill, Julien was mopped by family, friends, and fans with some holding signs and he stopped to give his wife a kiss and his son before getting back on his bike for the rest of the race.
It will be recalled that Italian cyclist Davide Ballerini was similarly fined the same amount for stopping to watch Britain’s Mark Cavendish sprint to a record-breaking 35th Tour de France stage victory.
