Cycling is an extremely tough sport that often pushes cyclists to their physical and mental limits and sometimes even beyond. So it's no wonder that emotions sometimes get the better of the athletes and conflicts arise in cycling, with fists sometimes flying. It's not a bad thing for any athlete, but some of these scenes are still memorable.
Conflicts in cycling: Jeroen Blijlevens vs. Bobby Julich
Dutchman Jeroen Blijlevens was one of the most successful sprinters in the international peloton in the 1990s, winning a total of 74 races, most of them stages in tours. He is one of the few professionals to have won the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana were able to achieve one-day victories. Throughout his career, Blijlevens was a rather robust type who defended his position tenaciously in the bunch sprints. In the Tour de France In 2000, however, the horses ran away with him once. After crossing the finish line of the final stage, he accused the American Bobby Julich of obstructing him in the sprint. When Julich tried to turn away laughing, the Dutchman became even angrier and punched the US pro in the face with his fist, breaking his glasses. Blijlevens was subsequently disqualified for this offence and had to pay a fine of around 130 euros.
Mario Cipollini loses his temper
In the same year, a similar incident was recorded at the Tour of Spain; before the start of stage 5, the Italian Mario Cipollini in Albacete with Spanish rider Javier Cerezo of the Vitalicio team. Eyewitnesses reported at the time that Cipollini had hit the Vitalicio rider in the face with his fist while signing on before the start. The scene was witnessed by Cerezo's wife and children, who bled profusely after the blow and whose eye swelled up. Cipollini accused Cerezo of insulting him, the exact circumstances of the argument are not known.
Over the course of his career, "Cipo" thrilled fans with great performances and countless victories as well as his star qualities, but he also came into conflict with the law on more than one occasion. In 2009, he was convicted of tax evasion, but was later acquitted because he had been living in Monaco at the time and was therefore not liable for tax in Italy. In 2022, Cipollini was sentenced to three years in prison for violence against his former partner.
Bernard Hinault does not like demonstrators
Former professional cyclist Bernard Hinault - to this day the last Frenchman to win the Tour de France (1984) - was already known for his Breton stubbornness and quick-tempered character during his active career. A good example of this is his aversion to the legendary cobblestone classic Paris-Roubaix. Hinault never made a secret of the fact that he didn't like the race, but showed all his critics with his victory in 1981 that he was up for the challenge. Afterwards, he said with the authority of the winner: "The race is rubbish." He only took part once more (in 1982, as the previous year's winner) and otherwise gave the race a wide berth.
Since the end of his active career, Hinault has also worked for the organiser of the Tour de France and accompanies the award ceremonies after the stages. In this role in 2008, he made short work of a demonstrator in Nantes who wanted to use the award ceremony to protest against the expansion of the airport and pushed the troublemaker off the stage rather rudely and without further ado.
Rui Costa vs. Carlos Barredo
At the 2010 Tour de France, two riders once again clashed in such a way that it did not go unnoticed by the public. After the sixth stage on Friday in the finish town of Gueugnon, the Spaniard Carlos Barredo and the Portuguese Rui Costa came to blows. The brawlers had already clashed during the race when their handlebars were said to have touched. Behind the finishing line, Barredo then attacked Costa with a front wheel before hitting the Portuguese rider with several punches. Both riders were fined 300 euros by the jury.
Alberto Contador hits doctor - Lance Armstrong pushes fan with syringe into ditch
However, the anger of some professional cyclists is not only directed at other racers with whom they clash during the race or for other reasons. Spectators on the sidelines can also incur the wrath of the riders. Many supposed cycling fans, who confuse the big cycling races with a stage for their own appearances on television, come dangerously close to the racers simply because of their egotistical performances in more or less tasteful costumes.
If they then want to show off their suspicions of doping in medical costumes or with oversized syringes, it gets a bit too colourful for some riders. At the 2011 Tour de France, for example, the Spaniard Alberto Contador had enough of being harassed by a spectator running alongside him and slapped the supposed green coat.
In a similar attack by a syringe-wielding spectator during the Tour of California, Lance Armstrong pushed the fan into the ditch.
Gianluca Brambilla vs. Ivan Rovny - Brawl at Vuelta a Espana 2014
During the 2014 Vuelta a Espana, a veritable brawl remained "in the family", or rather in the peloton. The Italian Gianluca Brambilla from the Omega Pharma-Quick Step team got into a real brawl on the bike with the Russian Ivan Rovny from the Tinkoff-Saxo team - right in front of the commissaires, who first removed the Italian from the race on the final climb and then the Russian shortly afterwards. After Brambilla initially protested against the decision, gesticulating wildly, he later apologised and tweeted: "I'm sorry. That shouldn't have happened."
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Hunting scenes in the hotel corridor
A truly wild story of bickering and brawling riders took place far away from European TV images at the 2015 Tour of Costa Rica. There, the rivalry between the two teams Frijoles Los Tierniticos and Reitt-Zumco-Micho escalated. Initially, two riders from both teams allegedly got into an argument during the race on stage 6, which caused tempers to flare.
Even hours after the race, the dispute had not cooled down. And as both teams were staying in the same hotel after the stage, it came as it had to: a wild brawl broke out in the hotel corridors, after which several riders and other participants ended up in hospital with broken arms and noses. The disqualification of two team members from Frijoles Los Tierniticos was not enough punishment for the Reitt-Zumco-Micho team, however, which is why the squad abandoned the tour in a huff.
