Jack Bauer about Nacer Bouhanni incident: I thought someone wanted an autograph
Jul 12 2017 06:53 am CET
SUBSCRIBE TO RSS FEEDSJACK BAUER
NACER BOUHANNI
QUICK - STEP FLOORS
COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS
TOUR DE FRANCE
New Zealand cyclist Jack Bauer of QuickStep reacted to the stage 10 incident with Nacer Bouhanni in a particularly light-hearted way.
Bouhanni was seen swinging his arm at Bauer after the New Zealander had bumped into the Cofidis sprinter, and as a result received a one-minute time penalty and a fine of 200 CHF.
Talking to Belgian television show 'Vive le Velo', Bauer said that he didn't even consider it an incident.
"I think he was just trying to defend his space behind his lead-out rider, which any rider is gonna do. I wouldn't call it an incident. It's in the heat of the moment, the last five kilometers of the sprint. The road doesn't just automatically open up in front of a rider. To win a stage, you have to create space," he said.
"I have no problem with what happened today. One second after it occurred I looked around; I felt a brush on my shoulder and I thought someone was tapping me to ask for an autograph. And I thought 'who is this young girl who wants an autograph? This isn't the moment!'
"All I'm worried about in a moment like that is what position Marcel (Kittel) is in, and that whatever happens in front of him doesn't affect him or his result."
