Marcel Kittel didn't like Remco Evenepoel's 'push' for Primoz Roglic: "It's disrespectful in my eyes"

Remco Evenepoel gave Primoz Roglic a little push during stage eleven of the Tour de France. Evenepoel seemed to urge Roglic to ride extra hard at the front in order to catch back to the leading duo (Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard). Remco's actions caused some commotion after the stage.

Analyst Marcel Kittel, for example, found it disrespectful: "You just don't do that," he said on NOS. The push came after Evenepoel caught up with Roglic on one of the climbs in the final and the two started spinning. Kittel had a strong opinion about it: "I personally don't like a push like that, it's disrespectful in my eyes. They're both fighting for a Tour podium. You just don't do that. It's possible in the grupetto, but now it's not collegial."

"It is speculation what he means by that, but for me this is a great opportunity to show the viewers: 'He is done and I'm giving him a push. I'm the strongest rider of the two of us.' I don't think that's allowed," Kittel was critical and clear.

Evenepoel himself stated afterwards that Roglic was clearly not feeling so fresh in the absolute final. "His headers were just not heartfelt. Ultimately, I can also draw positive conclusions from that," Evenepoel told Sporza.