Gaze fined for finger gesture
Sam Gaze has been fined for his antics on the mountainbike track, but insists his behaviour is not indicative of the rest of the sport.
The Kiwi won Commonwealth Games gold ahead of team-mate Anton Cooper in a tense race at the Nerang Mountainbike Trails on Thursday afternoon.
Gaze accused Cooper of bad sportsmanship after he attacked on a climb heading into the last lap while Gaze was left stranded in the pits with a puncture. Whilst standing alongside his bike, he was photographed pulling the middle finger in the direction of Cooper.
Cycling’s governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale, fined Gaze 200 Swiss francs (NZ$282) - the currency of their base in Switzerland - for the gesture, a Cycling New Zealand spokesman confirmed yesterday.
The fine was a paltry amount and more a symbolic slap on the wrist than anything else.
The gesture, along with holding one finger to his lips as he crossed the finish line ahead of Cooper, were a prelude to Gaze’s post-race comments.
‘‘There is good sportsmanship and there’s not, and I feel like that wasn’t there today,’’ Gaze said.
Gaze had just chased Cooper down on the final lap to relegate him to silver. He apologised within hours of the race and both were made available for interviews yesterday at New Zealand House on the Gold Coast, where again Gaze apologised and admitted his embarrassment at the episode.
‘‘For starters, I’m grateful I had such a good performance under the pressure, but what I’m not grateful for and not proud of is my reaction and behaviour under pressure. It’s part of growing up and putting on my big boy shoes. That’s been one of the biggest and toughest lessons I’ve ever learned in my life. ‘‘
Gaze and Cooper both said they had the utmost respect for each other, but stopped short of saying they were friends - not that they need to be given they only come together as team-mates once every two years for Olympics and Commonwealth Games.
‘‘We have huge respect for each other on the bike and live at completely different ends of the country, so we don’t train together a lot,’’ Cooper said.
‘‘It’s a working relationship.’’