Gesture from Evenepoel toward Healy sparks irritation: "That really gets to me"

Gesture from Evenepoel toward Healy sparks irritation: "That really gets to me"

Thijs Zonneveld has spoken out in his daily podcast In het Wiel about how Remco Evenepoel treated EF rider Ben Healy during the third stage of the Tour de France. The Irishman passed his Belgian competitor just before the finish because his team leader Richard Carapaz could — and actually did — take the yellow jersey, benefiting the other general classification contenders.

"I wanted to comment on that," begins Zonneveld. "There was a sprint battle to see who would take the yellow jersey, and Carapaz went all out for it, which they executed superbly. Around position forty, Evenepoel and Pogacar came in, with Evenepoel very ostentatiously behind Pogacar, like 'I'm not going to pass you, buddy,'" describes Zonneveld.

"I appreciate that Evenepoel is different and dares to say things others don't. But what's really unpleasant is when riders mock other riders. I really can't stand that. Healy, as Carapaz's teammate, just passed Evenepoel and Pogacar, but Evenepoel made a gesture implying, 'Look at him.'"

Zonneveld: "Healy just did something clever"

"Then he looked at Pogacar to see if he noticed, so they could laugh about it together," Zonneveld continues. "But Pogacar didn’t even notice that Evenepoel was trying to mock him, because that’s what it was: bullying behavior. It was also dumb because Healy did something very clever: by putting himself between them, there was an extra person between Carapaz and Evenepoel/Pogacar."

"But even if he's sprinting for 37th place, he has every right to do so. I find it so poor, riders who deny other riders the right to compete. It was a small moment, but I found it very telling and irritating. This is just bullying, and that’s deplorable."