A man whose push on Francesco Bongiorno cost the Bardiani-CSF rider the chance to win on Monte Zoncolan on Saturday’s Stage 20 of the Giro d’Italia could become the first cycling fan to be banned from attending sporting events in Italy.
Police in Udine are trying to establish the man’s identity with the view to issuing him with a banning order known as a ‘Daspo’. Introduced to address problems associated with football hooliganism , these orders apply to all sports.
According to the news website Udine Today, video of the incident involving the spectator, who was wearing a replica world champion’s jersey, has been passed to police by Enzo Cainero of the local organising committee of the stage in question.
With 3km remaining of the climb of the Zoncolan, Bongiorno and Tinkoff-Saxo’s Michael Rogers were alone at the head of the race and seemed set to battle for the stage victory.
Over-enthusiastic fans had caused problems for many riders on what was the final mountain of this year’s race, with the biggest talking point being when a fan, trying to be helpful, gave Bongiorno a push.
Instead, the rider’s bike touched wheels with that of Rogers and Bongiorno needed to unclip to avoid falling off.
Losing his momentum, the Italian would never catch Rogers who rode off to the stage victory.
Bongiorno finished third with Androni Giocatolli’s Franco Pelizotti overhauling him ahead of the line, and immediately following the stage, he was in tears of both frustration and anger.
20 thoughts on “Police want banning order for spectator who pushed Francesco Bongiorno on Zoncolan (+ video)”
It won’t be too hard for them
It won’t be too hard for them to get a decent shot of his face, as the moron was involved in running alongside riders again, shortly after the Bongiorno incident.
All spectators who run along
All spectators who run along with riders should be banned.
No they shouldn’t.
People
No they shouldn’t.
People should have a bit of sense and they shouldn’t get too close or impede the riders but please lets not sterilise the sport.
Personally, I hate the idiots
Personally, I hate the idiots who run alongside the Pros, specially the ones who spend more time looking at the camera than the rider and are therefore weaving all over the road…that climb in particular was atrocious (I thought Mick Rodgers was going to climb off and thump a chump at one point…quite right too).
However, turning up at the roadside in a panda suit or flippers and a snorkel has to be admired.
I loved it when Woult Poels
I loved it when Woult Poels grabbed that blokes sunnies and threw them into the long grass. His (spectator) face was like WTF . =))
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
🙂 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF_k238buqs
His actions did make me
His actions did make me giggle though when he realised what he’d done!
gazpacho wrote:His actions
Slightly longer vid here (not in English) that shows his reaction…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUpk1pUP6aw
Its part of the sport, so I
Its part of the sport, so I agree that we shouldn’t sanitise things by clamping down with too many rules. However, some of the so-called supporters are clearly idiots and idiots deserve to be punished. I think riders should each be issued with pepper spray on the mountain stages so that they can take out the worse offenders. Perhaps, there could be a new jersey competition for the mountain domestique who takes the most scalps, all black jersey with skull, punisher style would hit the spot.
Apart from anything else, he
Apart from anything else, he needs a kicking.
Beaufort wrote:Apart from
This isn’t Football so if that is the extent of your intellectual prowess , go fnd another sport to folllow
They could easily solve this
They could easily solve this by simply electrifying the riders.
It obviously didn’t cost him
It obviously didn’t cost him the stage. You could tell that he was about to be dropped by the much stronger Mick Rodgers anyway. I don’t think it effected the result at all
willjeffcott wrote:It
You may be right, I thought much the same when watching the stage, but i’m grateful for your omniscience anyway… but just as well this was cycling and not some sport where someone might recover some when they look dead or something else unexpected happens.
What a muppet eh!? But How
What a muppet eh!? #o But How do they plan to enforce banning spectators!! :))
#bloodyspectators
#bloodyspectators
How hard are they looking?
How hard are they looking? It’s Rui Costa, from the jersey.
(Unless it’s just some c*nt with no respect for people who have achieved something in their lives. That’s a possibility, I guess)
andyp wrote:How hard are they
Blimey imagine how you’d feel if someone was really disrespectful! As much as we always have opinions about jerseys to suggest that some one is either a) disrespectful for wearing a world champs jersey or b) a see you next Tuesday is a touch strong! I like to think I’ve been successful and I am still allowed to wear a jersey with a rainbow on it. I also have a lot of respect for world champs. Hence I’d like to “replicate” them.
Should’ve banned him for
Should’ve banned him for wearing a world’s champ jersey for a start. Met someone in a replica Team sky kit the other week when out on the bike. It’s the thrill of thinking from a distance “Wow. Here comes a world champ. Who is it…..It must be a genuine World Champ as only a bellend would be dressed as a world champ without being one..’ Then they pass – without saying hello – and they’re much fatter than Tony Martin and you realise it is indeed a bell end instead.
Yellow jerseys are ok. It’s a classic newbie mistake and easily forgiven but replica World and National Champ jerseys? They are for cads and bounders.
Off to lie down in a dark room now….
‘Blimey imagine how you’d
‘Blimey imagine how you’d feel if someone was really disrespectful!’
See above. That *is* really disrespectful.