Posted on 07/10/2015 8:49:08 AM PDT by Loyalist
Another hugely dramatic day at the Tour de France, during which race leader Tony Martin abandoned the race with a fractured collarbone following a multi-rider pile-up and defending champion Vincenzo Nibali allegedly threw a bottle at new race leader Chris Froome, whom he accused of having caused the fall, ended in a racism controversy. It was claimed that an MTN Qhubeka rider was called a “f–– n––” during yesterday’s fourth stage of the Tour of Austria.
The South African team’s principal, Doug Ryder, claimed last night that the incident was far from a one-off, alleging further racist abuse and bullying from within the peloton towards his riders.
MTN Qhubeka, the first African team to compete at the Tour de France since the 1950s, had a bittersweet day. Their Eritrean rider Daniel Teklehaimanot made cycling history, becoming the first black African to wear a leader’s jersey at a grand tour when he claimed the polka dot jersey for best climber on yesterday’s sixth stage from Abbeville to Le Havre. But even as the team were wiping away tears of joy, they were simultaneously making representations to the UCI, cycling’s world governing body, to have Belarusian rider Branislau Samoilau, of Pro-Continental team CCC-Sprandi-Polkowice, thrown out of the Tour of Austria for alleged racial abuse of their Eritrean champion Natnael Berhane.
Samoilau is alleged to have called Berhane a “f–– n––” during Thursday’s stage. It is understood that he has paid a month’s salary by way of apology to the Qhubeka charity, which aims to mobilize Africans by providing them with bikes.
“f–– n––”
flouncing ninnie?
flakey nerd?
frustrated nobody?
foreign nancy-boy?
oh wait those arent RACE oriented...
Is that team and the manager all blacks?
Just curious.
Yep, I thought it was Confederate flag flyers and southern U.S. citizens that did that?
Bwahhhhhhhhh!!!! (sniff, sniff, sob) somebody called a mean name. Bwahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!
I actually think that whoever hurled the epithet should have done their homework for an African contestant. The word most effective would have been Kaffir.
I’m viewing that one up on the desktop widescreen later.
Did the light pole participant in the mayhem..couldn’t tell on my phone screen.
“The sheriff is near!”
People can be mean? Well this strange new development requires tough laws, affirmative action, and possibly the burning of a city...
Get it over it. Peddle your bike faster than the a-hole with the big mouth.
Of course Øbama will weigh in on this and properly correct the bike racers ...
From LeTour:
"MTN-Qhubeka is therefore the first genuinely African team invited to participate in the Tour de France. Rooted in South Africa since its creation in 1997 by Douglas Ryder, a professional cyclist until 2002 and still the manager of a team sponsored since 2007 by the telecoms operator present throughout the African continent, Qhubeka (a word that means “advance” in the Xhosa language) is a foundation that provides bicycles as a means of transport to underprivileged populations. It is a team with a strong identity and humanitarian calling that is set to write a fine page in the grand international history of the Tour de France. In its ranks, it boasts Eritrean Daniel Teklehaimanot, the best climber on this year’s Critérium du Dauphiné, and his countryman Merhawi Kudus, who completed the Vuelta at the age of 20 years. The toughest runners on the planet come from this part of the world. Now it is cycling’s turn to be enhanced by these exceptional athletes."
Is that team and the manager all blacks?
************
Nope........
Of the nine riders in the TDF two are black. Of their 25
member roster, five are black.
http://www.letour.com/le-tour/2015/us/teams.html
The guy who caused the pile-up just dropped! WTH happened? It looks like he just fainted.
Put your big boy pants on, quit your bitching and be a man. Win and then people will give a f... about you. Until then you are nothing but a crying baby.
Talking Smack at a World Championship Sporting Event? Who would thought that that would ever happen? /s
They’re going like bats out of Hades and someone touched wheels with another rider and tons of people go down. The guy in yellow (the race leader) Cancellara broke 2 vertebra in the wreck and quit the race that night (after finishing the ride in a ton of pain). They’ve had several wrecks and the leader yesterday broke his collarbone and had to abandon as well. War of attrition this tour.
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