Nacer Bouhanni

[tobydawq]

I'm too lazy to go look for the video, but my memory (not very trustworthy)tells me that NB not only tried to move JS off of the wheel he leaned into the move. I'm sure that he will argue that he was trying to save himself from crashing, but I call BS on that.

JS has a broken hand.

You don't seem to have a very good grip on the term balance. It was definitely a self-saving move that made him lean.

 

[tobydawq]

There has never been a case of a rider internationally pushing another rider off the road while going down a mountain.
I'm comparing two situations that actually happened, situations that very likely only had different outcomes because of differences in route and barriers.
What Groenewegen did was wrong, pretty much everyone knows that, he knows that.
What Bouhanni did was wrong, pretty much everyone knows that, not so sure he knows that.

Well, on Mads Würtz' podcast, he has mentioned he was once riding right behind Quintana on a descent when he (Quintana) suddenly decided to drop a bottle on the road like it was Mario Kart. Not really pushing but a bit of the same intention.

 

[jmdirt]

I thought that his sprint the other week was dirty so I posted it here for discussion (I started this thread because he seemed to have frequent dirty sprints and off the bike boxing events), but it sounds like other people have gone crazy about it! What is wrong with people?! I didn't realize that he has received racist comments his entire life, honestly I didn't know or think about his race.

What is wrong with people?!

 

[King Boonen]

I thought that his sprint the other week was dirty so I posted it here for discussion (I started this thread because he seemed to have frequent dirty sprints and off the bike boxing events), but it sounds like other people have gone crazy about it! What is wrong with people?! I didn't realize that he has received racist comments his entire life, honestly I didn't know or think about his race.

What is wrong with people?!

I'm guessing being American you're kind of removed from racism in Europe, but honestly this is, sadly, not even a little bit surprising. People need to take a step back and wonder why a man who has been abused throughout his career (I read an article once detailing how teams he was on in France used to purposefully serve him ham sandwiches) might have developed a shell and a reactionary nature to people calling him out. He is no worse than plenty of other sprinters when it comes to aggressive or dangerous moves and he's been taken out himself (as @roundabout pointed out). I still can't think of an actual crash he's caused, despite claims all over the internet that he's constantly doing it.

 

[tobydawq]

He is no worse than plenty of other sprinters when it comes to aggressive or dangerous moves

Yes.

 

[RedheadDane]

He might have a lot of faults; his race is not one of them.
And I think the fact that he was racially abused just after almost causing a crash - which is something he should be criticised for in and on itself, regardless of his race - shows just how *** up the minds of some people are; that they apparently think his race is worse than his behaviour.
Honestly, I never really realised he would be a target for racial abuse, because to me his race doesn't really matter, to me he's just... French.

 

[jmdirt]

I'm guessing being American you're kind of removed from racism in Europe, but honestly this is, sadly, not even a little bit surprising. People need to take a step back and wonder why a man who has been abused throughout his career (I read an article once detailing how teams he was on in France used to purposefully serve him ham sandwiches) might have developed a shell and a reactionary nature to people calling him out. He is no worse than plenty of other sprinters when it comes to aggressive or dangerous moves and he's been taken out himself (as @roundabout pointed out). I still can't think of an actual crash he's caused, despite claims all over the internet that he's constantly doing it.

I haven't lived racism around the world (I see things on the news obviously), but the USA is a racist sh*thole. I guess I can assume that most places are? I wish I could remember who I first heard say this so I could credit them, but "a person's skin color tells me one thing, their skin color." I'm a pasty white guy, who grew up in North Idaho, USA (infamous for racism, Arian Nations, etc.), but I have never been able to understand judging people by their skin color. When I was in the Army I was exposed to people with different skin colors who were horrible people, but I have been exposed to way more people of no color who were horrible people. Flip side of that, the coolest people I have ever met have every color of skin imaginable. Skin color doesn't make a person good or bad.

Sorry that was an OT rant, but to bring it back to NB, I don't understand how a crap move in a bike race has anything to do with his race (skin color, origin).

 

[SafeBet]

that they apparently think his race is worse than his behaviour.

I'm pretty sure they think his race is the cause of his behaviour.

 

[gunara]

Reading conversation on race in a thread about people who race can be difficult, especially if you only read the last few posts

 

[Samu Cuenca]

He's been suspended for two months, meaning he can still ride the Tour

UCI statement on the incident involving Nacer Bouhanni at the Cholet-Pays de la Loire race

www.uci.org

 

[Leinster]

...if Arkea choose to bring him.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

...if Arkea choose to bring him.

Sure, and that might not happen now.

 

[Valanga]

Sure, and that might not happen now.

He's having their full support apparently :

View: https://youtu.be/W3o6ZWN9N-U?t=466

 

[tobydawq]

Wow, apparently he still wears and sleeps with a neck brace, three months after his crash in the Tour of Turkey!

 

[yaco]

That was the stage when a spectator wondered in front of the peleton.

 

[staubsauger]

Big hit really given his shape last year and the current level in the Tour de France sprints. Bouhanni doesn't need to be shy of Groenewegen if he gets his act together.

 

[tobydawq]

On today's broadcast of the Alpes Maritimes race, Asbjørn Kragh Andersen told quite a funny story about Bouhanni. Back when Asbjørn was riding for Delko, he was riding a race in France which his brother, Søren, and Bouhanni also participated in.

Bouhanni was at the height of his powers but was riding as recklessly as his rumour has it, and according to Asbjørn he caused a crash in the finale (my detective skills have let me to conclude that it must have been the second stage of the Tour du Poitou Charentes in 2017) that took down himself, Søren and impeded Asbjørn.

After having crossed the line, Asbjørn decided to go back to Bouhanni and tell him that it wasn't necessary to ride like that. He started talking but was immediately hit in the head by Bouhanni who evidently wanted to fight him. People gathered and prevented a fight and Asbjørn rode away and took his shower in the bus.

But he (Asbjørn) wasn't satisfied by that, so he decided to go out of his bus and seek out the Cofidis bus to try to talk to Bouhanni again. He was let in and saw a heavily banged Bouhanni. Again, he tried to speak to him which was difficult due to the language barrier, but luckily, Nacer's brother, Rayane, was also at the race and he played the role as interpretor, so Asbjørn managed to convey the fact that he hadn't been seeking out a fistfight but simply had wanted to tell Bouhanni that it was unnecessary to ride like he had done.

They finally shook hands and when they would meet in the peloton in the coming years, Nacer and Asbjørn would always salute each other with a knuckles.

 

[RedheadDane]

For a second there, I thought you'd written that the crash had impaled Asbjørn... no wonder he was a bit annoyed.

 

[tobydawq]

Bye

 

[Panda Claws]

More like Whohanni!

Edit: Just read that he retired because of a crash. So sorry for the bad timing.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

So sad what happened in Turkish tour last year.

 

[Bolder]

A real puncheur.

Just kidding.

Really talented - 70 wins - and took a lot of racist abuse at a time when there were almost no riders of color. At the same time, he didn't help his own cause.

Maybe just a bit below the best sprinters of mid 2010s after Cav, greipel, Kittel, Kristoff and Demare?

 

[Zoetemelk-fan]

Whoa, just found this thread. Wild stories.
In another thread I reasoned why pro road cycling don't need a Netflix series to entice new viewers to the sport.
The product is delivering in full abundance in itself, without having to poke at the surface more than a cough
Completely behind on Bouhanni, apart from I knew his controversies with Demare, but learned quite a bit by reading this thread about how deeply it really was founded.
Thanks for an educational thread.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

I wouldn't wish being forced to retire due to a horrific crash on anyone. That being said... if it had to happen to someone, then someone who's somehow managed to break both his own and another rider's hand during his career isn't the worst option.

... especially when said two incidents are only the tip of the iceberg.

 

[staubsauger]

Bouhanni was on his way back or he arguably was back on top already. Then this horrific crash in Turkey happened and killed his career!