Nacer Bouhanni apology statement to Jake Stewart after sprint move | Video
Posted on: March 29th, 2021
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Nacer Bouhanni (Arkea Samsic) has apologised to Jake Stewart (Groupama-FDJ) for the sprint move he pulled in the final gallop to the finish line at Cholet-Pays de la Loire (1.1) in France yesterday.
Bouhanni moved sharply to his left and pinned Stewart up against the barriers to the extent he almost crashed. And now the UCI has referred the matter to its disciplinary commission, with Bouhanni facing further sanction.
The race was won by Elia Viviani (Cofidis), who was ahead of the Bouhanni-Stewart incident, and while Bouhanni crossed the line in 3rd he was relegated to last place.
Stewart’s momentum was destroyed by the incident and he drifted back the bunch, eventually crossing the line in 29th place. After the race he was very critical of Bouhanni.
However, the French sprinter – who has cornered the market in sprinting controversy at times during his career – has now apologised, saying he didn’t see Stewart and tried his best to correct himself when he made contact with the British 21-year-old neo pro.
“I want to say I’m sorry for Jake Stewart,” Bouhanni said
in a team statement. “The sprint went like this: I saw Viviani launch, and I
wanted to take his slipstream.
“I admit that my mistake was to change course to take his
wheel. I don’t see Jake Stewart at that moment.
“When we made contact with each other, I found myself
off-balanced and I caught myself as best I could so as not to crash.
“I just wanted to take the slipstream because the wind
was coming from the front and right side — by no means was it intentional.”
