A pleasant gesture became the start of a public quarrel between some of the big profiles in the sport. After Sunday’s stage of the race, EF Education rider Ben Healy did not hesitate to congratulate Brandon McNulty on his victory. But that episode made EF Education manager Jonathan Vaughters think back to an incident from the Giro’s 13th stage. Then Groupama-FDJ’s Thibaut Pinot and Jefferson Cepeda fought in a fierce duel. After the ride, the first-mentioned went out, and Pinot said he was “furious” about the lack of drag assistance from the Colombian. SUCCESS: Thibaut Pinot is about to do a strong Giro, but has a bit of a fight on Twitter between the stages. Photo: JENNIFER LORENZINI / Reuters – Proud to see that Healy congratulated the winner instead of going to the media and laughing that life is unfair. Lovely setting. Fantastic person. Great cyclist, Vaugthers wrote on Twitter. He was quickly asked to direct the message to the person who everyone understood he meant to be grumpy. Thus, Pinot was also made aware of what the outspoken cycling manager thought of him. – Who are you? he replied to Vaughters’ Twitter message. It was at this point that Lance Armstrong joined the conversation. The doping-ridden American is among the most controversial characters in cycling history, but does not seem to have particularly high thoughts of Vaughters. – Who is he? hired Armstrong opposite Pinot. – He is a damned clown. At least based on the more than 30 years I have known him. – Very outspoken news’s cycling expert Sondre Sørtveit says that Vaughters is known for his outspoken way of being, and that it can be fun for the fans if there is a bit of an argument between the top cyclists. – Vaughters is a very outspoken, charismatic and eccentric team manager. He is not afraid to say what he thinks in the media, he says and continues: EXPERT: Sondre Sørtveit. – The fact that Thibaut Pinot is a little criticized for not wanting to congratulate the winner and being disappointed even when he doesn’t win, that’s how it is with many cyclists. But it is clear that if Vaughters believes his riders have better sportsmanship and accept defeat in a better way, then he must just mean it. Denies conflict news took part in a press conference with both Groupama-FDJ and EF Education on Monday. The first-mentioned team did not wish to comment on the performance against Pinot. At EF, Healy stood up for a press conference. He thinks the arguing on Twitter is just fun and denies that there is a bad atmosphere between his team and Groupama-FDJ. ONCE FRIENDS: Vaughters and Armstrong have not always been enemies. Photo: Michel Spingler / AP – It’s just cycling. Pinot is a man with many feelings. There is nothing wrong with that. He has a passion for what he does. Sometimes it slows him down, but that’s how cycling is. He is a strong rider and he has taken some big wins, so I don’t think he will be too disappointed. I have some friends in Groupama and it’s just something we can laugh about, says Healy. Pinot retires after this season, and the Giro d’Italia is one of his last chances to win something big. Early in his career he was voted young rider of the year in the Tour de France, a race in which he has a total of three stage victories. He also has two stage victories from the Vuelta and one victory in the Giro to look back on.
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Cycling stars in public feud – Armstrong calls Vaughters a clown – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
