If it isn’t tough enough just making the grade to even compete in the Tour de France, imagine how tough it will be to continue after causing the defending champion to crash in your debut race. That’s just what Jens Keukeleire of team Orica-GreenEdge did to last year’s winner Chris Froome.
However, the calm and dapper Foome held no grudges and even went as far as to absolve the young Belgian of any wrong doing.
“Immediately I thought, even though it wasn’t my fault, ‘Fuck, I took down the winner of last year’s Tour de France,’ but in the end he seems to come away with some minor scratches,” recounted a troubled Keukeleire.
Tuesday’s Stage from Le Touquet to Lille played host to the incident. Movement was reported around the front runners, which caused Jens Keukleire to shift, ultimately initiating contact between his rear wheel and Foome’s front.
“A rider from Belkin wanted to go through a gap that wasn’t there,” claims Keukeleire, yet the Belkin rider was never identified. However, karma may have struck the mystery rider as his team leader Bauke Mollema was swallowed up by the resulting crash.
Despite the crash, both Froome and Mollema were able to remount their fallen bikes and rejoin the fray. Keukeleire immediately apologized to Froome, and there seems to be no bad blood between the two.
Photo credit: Laurie Beylier
Last Updated on April 29, 2023
Leave a Reply