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Utrecht postman goes postal (RTV Utrecht video still)Video: Utrecht postman tears down Tour de France barriers
A postman in Utrecht has been caught on film having a bit of a meltdown after finding his way blocked by barriers erected for Stage 1 of the Tour de France on Saturday – throwing his bike over the railings, before launching a four-letter tirade on volunteer ‘Tour Makers’ who asked him what he was doing.
The postal worker – speaking in what is unmistakeably an English accent – tells a female volunteer “"I'll knock your teeth out” after clambering over the fence.
Then, when two of her male colleagues come over to try and stop him crossing the road, he tells them, “Don't be ridiculous. I've got 80 kilos worth of post." He adds: "F--- off you imbecile."
According to Australian broadcaster 9 News, the postman has spoken to his employers about the incident and apologised to the Tour Makers involved.
While PostNL did not condone his actions, it did point out that there were extenuating circumstances as a result of both the weather and the Tour’s Grand Depart in Utrecht.
A spokesman for the national postal service said: "This is inexcusable, but our employees have been working for days in the heat, with jobs a complex traffic situation.
"Moreover, this man had taken extra work of his colleagues, in addition to his own route and he was already 20 minutes on the detour."
While the postie has clearly kept his accent, that’s more than can be said for former England manager Steve McLaren, who famously went native with his intonation and pronunciation when managing Dutch side, FC Twente.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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27 comments
Sshhit down....have a Shmoke and a Pankake...
20 replies and no one has mentioned 'Going Postal'?
A sad reflection on the youth of today...
The Tour Makers were doing a good job in Utrecht, and they were of course volunteers. It was absolutely baking.
The barriers were frustrating, and there was hardly any provision for controlled crossing even hours before the race. There was a temporary bridge on Nachtegaal Straat, but you weren't allowed over carrying a bike, so it was a long, long way to a crossing point.
Nobody comes out of the video especially well, but it's a storm in a teacup.
Flying the flag!
Classy.
Utter fucking tool. I hope he looses his job the little shit. Only ever met really nice people in Holland and if this wanker turns out to be a Brit I'll be mortified but no suprised. Big brave man threatening to knock out the teeth of a woman
Threatening a woman, what a fucking hero.
Scouse accent?
Nobber having a temper tantrum because he can't get through. There were plenty of Tour Makers around & no doubt a polite request for assistance would have resolved his issues. Bad manners are not the result of high temperatures but of upbringing., and that's from a bad tempered old git.
Makes me ashamed to be British. I always cringe when I see one of us behaving badly in a foreign country.
You'd think they would have known that the TDF was coming through and you know, made a contingency plan. Moronic PostNL would give British Rail a run for their money.
In the Netherlands the postmen don't get a route, they make there own. So the guy himself should have made a contingency plan.
Whilst his actions obviously weren't great, it is refreshing to see an employer recognise that the circumstances are difficult for one of their employees and explaining that, rather than just throwing the employee under the bus.
I'm expecting the Daily Mail headline:
"Violent cyclist unleashes tirade of abuse on innocent female bystander"
Don't forget "immigrant"!
sympathy with postie.
Appears closed road rage isn't limited to Scotland/Wales, at least no tacks were scattered to puncture tyres.
Appears closed road rage isn't limited to Scotland/Wales, at least no tacks were scattered to puncture tyres.
Poor volunteer, she didn't deserve to be threatened by that nobber. No excuse for that.
I think she should not have stooped to physical violence: namely grabbing him in an attempt to stop him. In fact, she should probably have helped him open the barrier so that he could pass through. Same goes for all the other volunteers that were standing around until something interesting happened.
Ush wrote:
She "stooped to physical violence"?!?! Are you serious or did I miss the sarcasm? She just tried to stop him wrecking the fence. The postie guy is just an selfish, immature knobhead who lost his temper because he wasn't allowed to do whatever the heck he wanted. If anybody stooped to physical violence it was him.
Be fair - he lost his temper because it was a very hot day and he had a lot of work to be getting on with, and apparently his employer hadn't properly planned for the disruption of a sporting event on public roads.
Threatening to knock someone's teeth out (especially a woman) loses him my sympathy, mind.
Agreed on that. However she also lost my sympathy when she lunged at him and grabbed him.
Apparently what you missed was the video.
She's part of the event organisation and I would suggest that as there are riders using the route at the time Mr Nobber decided to rip down the barriers she tried to intervene to stop him injuring himself or any of the passing riders. Had he been left to do as he pleased and then caused a collision there would be people, maybe even you, asking why the volunteers didn't try to stop him. But if you feel she deserved to be threatened in that way then we'll have to agree to differ.
You can suggest whatever you like, but if you actually watch the video you will see a pair of people toodling along with crates/racks on the front of their bikes.
She physically assaulted him.
She, and the other jobsworths could have actually helped him across if that was the concern. Again, if you watch the video instead of working yourself into a froth over your "Nobber", you'll see that it was reasonably safe to cross and that this was a case of petty officials (none are worse than volunteers) causing a disruption to normal life.
I don't think he should have threatened her. I think he should have arrested her for assault.
You're funny!
Poor bloke.