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news
Kris Boeckmans, in the red of Lotto-Soudal, pushes Justin Jules to rear of peloton (Eurosport video still).PNG“I did it my way” – Lotto-Soudal rider Kris Boeckmans explains bizarre incident during race (+ video)
Cofidis rider Nacer Bouhanni won yesterday’s Nokere Koerse race in Belgium, but social media users have focused on a bizarre incident involving Lotto-Soudal rider Kris Boeckmans who was filmed ‘escorting’ a rival rider to the rear of the peloton inside the final 10 kilometres.
TV footage showed Boeckmans holding an outstretched arm towards the WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect rider Justin Jules to slow him down and allow other riders to pass.
No chat allowed inside #NokereKoerse #Nokere pic.twitter.com/GJFlpMsHwP
— Tappa e Maglia (@TappaeMaglia) March 15, 2017
There had been a crash within the peloton at the Belgian cobbled race shortly beforehand, which could explain the behaviour of Boeckmans, a rider who spent a week in an induced coma following a crash in the 2015 edition of the Vuelta a Espana.
> Lotto-Soudal’s Kris Boeckmans in induced coma after Vuelta crash
According to Het Nieuwsblad, Boeckmans said that he had been working for team mate Jasper De Buyst when he became aware of Jules pulling on his saddle and cursing at him in French.
The newspaper noted that Jules, whose biological father was the Tour de France stage winner Pascal Jules, was sentenced to three years in prison in 2008 for murdering his alcoholic stepfather with an iron bar four years earlier.
Referring to the incident during yesterday’s race, Boeckmans said: “It’s not the first time he’s done that. They told me, ‘Watch out, he’s not normal, he spent three years in prison’. That shouldn’t be an excuse. Why should that lad be allowed to get away with things?”
Later, the Lotto-Soudal tweeted to explain that his foremost concern had been for the safety of himself and other riders.
I did it my way, maybe it's not the best way but always with respect and security for my colleagues. #NokereKoerse
— Kris Boeckmans (@krisboeckmans) March 15, 2017
One curiosity; Boeckmans was winner of the race in 2015, when Jules finished runner-up.
Yesterday, the Lotto-Soudal rider came home in 149th place while the French rider he had brought back to the rear of the peloton was 16th.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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9 comments
I still can't work out what Boeckmans was trying to protect the peloton from though? I saw this on TV and the rider being pushed back didn't seem to riding irratically or anything and there's no iron bar shaped outlines in his jersey pockets.
Apparently he'd been pulling on a saddle to a lotto rider earier in the day and generally being a nuisance, a bit like that 'Bitey' soccer player whatever his name is?
The Lotto rider is basically giving him a bit of the 'I'm putting you down son' act on the little scrote...and given his history, this makes him even more of a legend.
thankyou...no matter how many times Id read the article I still could not work out what on earth was going on or was supposed to have happened, that now makes at least some sense.
"manslaughter" "cuplable homicide" etc are often termed "murder" of a lower grade in other legal systems (US for one), and then you add in translation.
But yeah, blimey, this lad has quite the story.
Wait, he murdered someone and only spent three hears in prison? And now lives the dream of racing bikes? What is going on in France?
far be it for me to suggest you (and road.cc) learn to use Google but he got 3 years for manslaughter as he confessed but claimed, and was believed, that he didn't intend to kill his abusive stepfather.
"I didn't mean to kill him when I hit him with a heavy metal bar." - okayyyy... [steps sideways.]
Seems harsh... if he'd used a car and done it in England it would have been £85 and a Eurostar ticket
Only if his stepfather had been cycling at the time.