Kittel versus Grivko: Dubai Tour clash continues on social media
Feb 03 2017 02:11 am CET
SUBSCRIBE TO RSS FEEDSThe hitting incident involving Marcel Kittel of Quick-Step Floors and Astana's Andrei Grivko continues on social media as the two riders offer different versions of the same story.
Grivko hit Kittel in the face during the third stage of the Dubai Tour, for which the Ukrainian was eliminated from the race while Kittel calls for much stronger measures to be taken.
Astana apologized for the incident but that isn't nearly enough for the German sprinter. "I won't accept an apology for this. That has nothing to do with cycling. What Grivko did is a shame for our beautiful sport," he tweeted.
Grivko later replied on Facebook, claiming that his action was the result of Kittel's dangerous behaviour during the race. The Quick-Step rider had been trying to find a good position after the wind caused the peloton to split temporarily and this, according to Grivko, was done in an unacceptable manner.
"In the fighting for position, and as it was confirmed by Kittel himself, he roughly pushed with his shoulder firstly my teammate Dmitriy Gruzdev and then me, creating a very tense and dangerous situation that could cause not only my fall, but a big crash in the peloton," he wrote.
"I responded with aggressive action to aggressive action from the other side. Perhaps, I got emotional and it has nothing to do with cycling, but in extreme situations, when it is a question of safety, it is difficult to stay calm."
Grivko went on to explain that Kittel's behaviour following the incident continued to be questionable.
"After that incident, Kittel repeatedly, in the truest sense of the word, spit in my direction, which I also believe has nothing to do with cycling.
"I can assure that it was not 'an attack on the rival'. It arose out of nowhere. Moreover, as was noted by Kittel, my weight is 70 kg against his 86. However, once again I apologize to the race organizers, to all the fans, and of course, to my team for this unpleasant incident, which led to my exclusion from the race."
The weight issue was earlier commented on by Kittel. "I just googled Grivko and it said he is 70kg. Dude, know your limits!!" the German wrote on Twitter.
