British cyclist Mark Cavendish had a bottle of urine thrown at him during Wednesday’s Stage 11 time trial of the Tour de France, the BBC reported.
The incident occurred during the 33-kilometer trek from Avranches to Mont-Saint-Michel, and it’s believed to be the result of a wreck Cavendish was involved in from the previous day’s stage.
“Probably some spectators were not very pleased with what happened yesterday and they yelled to him and then one other idiot threw urine at him,” Cavendish's Omega Pharma team manager Patrick Lefevere said.
“I regret this. I always felt that cycling fans were gentlemen, enthusiastic people,” Lefevere added. “Mark is sad, he’s not upset.”
Cavendish didn’t comment after finishing up his trial, but his teammate, Jerome Pineau said on Twitter:
Ashamed when my friend @MarkCavendish said me that he was insulting and pissed all the parcours !!! Shame on you!!
— jerome pineau (@jejeroule44) July 10, 2013
Cavendish got tangled up with Tom Veelers over the final 150 meters of the 10th stage, and some, including Veelers, thought Cavendish was to blame for the crash.
“Yes, I think it’s clear to see from the video that he’s riding me on the ground,” Veelers said to a French TV station.
Race organizers cleared Cavendish of any wrong doing after reviewing the tape numerous times -- and ultimately put the onus on Veelers, claiming he slowed down in a faster-moving pack.
German rider Marcel Kittel won Tuesday's 10th stage, while Chris Froome maintained the overall lead heading into Wednesday's trials.
