Julien Bernard had a dream homecoming on Friday. During the time trial of the seventh stage of the Tour de France, which took place in Bernard's home region of Burgundy, the French cyclist enjoyed the passion of his home crowd and gave his wife and son a warm hug.
Because he stopped his ride to kiss his family, Bernard was fined 200 Swiss francs ($223) by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), which deemed his behavior “inappropriate or inappropriate behavior during the race and damaging to the image of the sport.”
The kiss – which was met with thunderous applause from his lots of of cheering fans on site – got here in a cinematic moment as Bernard raced up a steep hill with one arm raised within the air and his family and friends crowded along the route, patting him on the back, waving signs and playing instruments.
In the center of the group was his radiant wife, carrying their son.
Fantastic scenes for Julien Bernard with incredible fan support and a stop together with his family through the time trial.#TDF2024 📺: Peacock pic.twitter.com/FjIhSOWtjx
— NBC Sports Cycling (@NBCSCycling) July 5, 2024
On social media, Bernard took the fantastic as a joke.
“I'm sorry, UCI, for damaging the image of the sport,” Bernard wrote on X. “But I'm ready to pay 200 (francs) every day and relive this moment.”
Belgian Remco Evenepoel ultimately won the hilly 23.5 km (14.6 mile) stage.
Bernard's time of 32:03 was the 61st fastest time of the stage. His Lidl-Trek teammate Giulio Ciccone finished the stage in 31:19, placing forty first.
Another Lidl-Trek teammate, Toms Skujins, reacted to Bernard's fantastic with similar sarcastic bewilderment.
UCI does UCI things
😂 pic.twitter.com/VFrIDWYL2I— Toms Skujiņš (@Tomashuuns) July 5, 2024
“I knew my wife and my friends had done something on the climb and I was looking forward to seeing them,” Bernard said in an interview after the attempt, later adding: “I wanted to enjoy every second with my boyfriend and family. It was a dream moment for me.”
“In a time trial you have time to have fun. These are the moments that make me want to keep going and ride my bike.”
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image credit : www.nytimes.com