Maja Leye, the Belgian podium hostess who found herself in the spotlight after Peter Sagan was caught on camera pinching her behind following the Tour of Flanders in April, has received a Christmas present courtesy of the Slovak cyclist’s employers – a brand new Cannondale women’s bike.
Sagan, runner-up in that race to Fabian Cancellara, had apologised for the gesture to the 25-year-old by presenting her with a bunch of flowers at the Brabantse Pijl the following week.
But now Het Nieuwsblad reports that Cannondale delivered the new bike to the offices of the general secretariat of the Flanders Classics, where Leye works.
Following the incident in April, which prompted a debate in Belgium and beyond about whether there should still be podium hostesses in cycling, Leye admitted that she did consider slapping Sagan as he groped her.
“I really thought about it,” she said. “I had to stay professional. If I had reacted, the incident would have escalated. There were millions of TV viewers in front of their screens.”
26 thoughts on “Cannondale gives Christmas gift of new bike to podium hostess pinched on behind by Peter Sagan”
Shame that Sagan doesn’t
Shame that Sagan doesn’t behave with the same professionalism as Ms Leye. When he’s back working in the factory in Zilina after he gets busted for doping (it’s only a matter of time), I suspect he’ll still be as much of an arse.
Can you back up the Doper
Can you back up the Doper claim?
Dog72 wrote:Can you back up
…well he is a professional road cyclist. 🙂
Such Cynicism, what happened
🙂 Such Cynicism, what happened William? What painted your heart so black?
Is it just me that’s bored
Is it just me that’s bored with buffoons making unsubstantiated doping allegations. They should really be banned from the site.
Legin wrote:Is it just me
It’s not just you. (|:
The abbreviated title is a
The abbreviated title is a bit misleading.. when I read “Cannondale’s Xmas gift to podium hostess pinched by Sagan”, I thought he’d stolen her Xmas pressies!
spatuluk wrote:The
I could definitely, definitely see Sagan as The Grinch.
http://bikesandbidons.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/tdf-2013-stage-21-peter-sagan-green-presse-sports.jpg
http://geofflivingston.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/grinch.jpeg
Sagan matured quite a bit
Sagan matured quite a bit this season, including on the road.
I thought it was a feminist
I thought it was a feminist protest showing how women are STILL objectified as just pieces of meat to be leered at.
On a serious note I thought it the height of naffness in the Giro (or was it the Vuelta) where the 2 podium girls kissed the winner in a delightfully spontaneous and not at all painfully staged manner. Especially farcical when it was Cav who’s not the tallest.
Either that or Sagsn just liked her arse.
Sagan would make a perfect
Sagan would make a perfect grinch if he dyed his whole head green and not just his disgusting goatee
Cycling needs more Sagans –
Cycling needs more Sagans – great cyclist with great character. Pleased Cannondale made this gesture.
Dullard by name…
Sagan is
Dullard by name…
Sagan is one of the best things to happen to pro-cycling in a long time. Apparently his tests recently (VO2 max, 5 sec power etc) were all universally high, which is apparently unprecedented. Can’t wait for Paris Roubaix next year to see him in action on the hallowed cobbles.
And kudos to Cannondale for sorting that out. Alls well that ends well.
You all sound like the blind
You all sound like the blind fans who were still bigging up Armstrong up to a year ago. Sagan leaving the cream of the professional peloton wheezing and spluttering and then pulling his Forrest Gump without so much of a gasp? If it looks too good to be true, then it is. Or ‘apparently unprecedented’, if you prefer.
dullard wrote:You all sound
I’m not a blind fan. Taken, his performances are “special”, but calling someone out without any real proof, isn’t right. Is any rider who has a go ,and wins, a doper in your book? Would you prefer an orderly procession?
dullard wrote:You all sound
No blind fan-boy here. I’m totally realistic about doping in cycling (and other sports for that matter). What I can’t stand is hypocrisy. Not too concerned about lying (what sportsman is ever going say ‘yes I am doping’?), but if a person, or team, goes out of their way to declare and trumpet an anti-doping stance whilst practicing the opposite, that’s where I have an issue.
daddyELVIS wrote:No blind
You should back that statement up with evidence
DrJDog wrote:daddyELVIS
what, evidence that this is my stance?
Second that comment above
Second that comment above regarding doping commentators. Not really intelligent comments and certainly not worth reading.
Yep Sagan was stupid and childish doing this but he and the hostess moved on. Old news indeed….no debate then
Guyz2010 wrote:… regarding
I bloody knew it! I always thought David Duffield was on something!
Couldn’t possibly say
Couldn’t possibly say 😀
His alleged doping may be
His alleged doping may be unproven, but his knobendery is certain imho.
Really though, it’s a bit of
Really though, it’s a bit of a shit present when you think about it.
“Oh, a bike, from a bike company….Oh, you’ve really thought outside the frigging box on this present haven’t you?”
@ farrell What if she hates
@ farrell What if she hates riding bikes!
And seriously doping allegations? If your going to make doping allegations you shouldn’t even bother watching sport – everyone is doing spectacular things and pushing themselves, if your going to call out each one and say “he won a race he’s a doper” whats the point in bothering watching? Cycling has had a bad past, we need to move forward. You don’t see football fans saying “so and so won, match was probably fixed”
I wonder whether she’ll have
I wonder whether she’ll have something unusual for Christmas dinner. She’s already had a goose, after all.
It’s simple: whatever your
It’s simple: whatever your personal subjective impression is, you should not accuse anyone of doping without actual strong evidence. Why even mention it in this context?
The context is Sagan acting like a silly 12 year old. He needs to take a course in how to behave like a professional top level cyclist and not a little kid. It’s embarrassing. I can’t believe the people on here who say things like that he’s a ‘breath of fresh air’. I wince at the things he does, it’s like he’s showing off to his mates at school.