Cycling stars in public feud – Armstrong calls Vaughters a clown – NRK Sport – Sports news, results & broadcast schedule

A nice gesture has become the start of a public brawl between some of the sport’s biggest figures.

After Sunday’s stage of the race, EF Education rider Ben Healy did not hesitate to congratulate Brandon McNulty on his victory. But that episode made EF Education Director Jonathan Fogers think of an incident from the Giro’s Stage 13.

He then fought Groupama-FDJ’s Thibaut Pinot and Jefferson Cepeda in a fierce duel. After the ride, the first male came out, and Pinott said he was “furious” about the lack of traction assistance from the Colombian.

– We are proud to see Hailey congratulating the winner instead of going to the media and laughing about how unfair life is. nice place. wonderful person. Vugthers wrote The Great Pheasant Twitter.

He was quickly told to address the letter to the person everyone understood he meant to be angry. Thus, Pinot was also informed of what the outspoken cycling boss thought.

– Who are you? Reply to Vaughters’ message on Twitter.

At this point, Lance Armstrong joined the conversation. The dope-ridden American is among the most controversial figures in cycling history, but he doesn’t seem to have particularly high thoughts of Vaughters.

– Who is he? Armstrong hired for Pinot.

– He’s a damned clown. At least based on the 30+ years I’ve known him.

– very honest

NRK cycling expert Sondre Sørtveit says Vaughters is known for his outspoken demeanor, and that he could be a crowd pleaser if there was a bit of controversy between the top cyclists.

Foggers is an outspoken, charismatic, and eccentric team manager. Not afraid to say what he thinks to the media, he says and continues:

– The fact that Thibaut Pinot has been criticized a little for not wanting to congratulate a winner and being disappointed even when he doesn’t win is the same with many cyclists. But clearly, if the Foggers think his knights have better sportsmanship and accept defeat in a better way, then he must mean it.

Rejects conflict

On Monday, NRK participated in a press conference with both Groupama-FDJ and EF Education. The first mentioned team did not want to comment on the performance against Pinot.

At EF, Healy stood up for a press conference. He thinks the Twitter controversy is just for fun and denies that there was a bad atmosphere between his team and Groupama-FDJ.

– It’s just cycling. Pinot is a man with many feelings. There is nothing wrong with this. He has a passion for what he does. Sometimes that slows it down, but that’s the way it is with cycling. He’s a strong rider and has had some great wins, so I don’t think he’ll be too disappointed. I have some friends at Groupama, Healy says, and that’s something we can laugh about.

Pinot retires after this season, and the Giro d’Italia is one of his last chances to win something big.

Early in his career, he was named Young Rider of the Year in the Tour de France, a race in which he achieved a total of three stage wins. He also has two Vuelta stage victories and one Giro victory to look back on.