Podium girl Maja Leye says she fought to keep calm as Peter Sagan pinched her behind

Whoops. I commented on a 7 year old story.

His expression is perfect! I love it. Good job boy... good job.

The first time I watched a race I felt genuinely uncomfortable with the whole podium girls thing. I know cycling is a sport of tradition, but that takes the piss.

The Sagan incident is unpleasant, but the comments sections on cycling websites are even worse.

For those suggesting its just a bit of a laugh, you might want to consider that in this country if the girl had made a complaint he could be facing criminal charges. Unwanted physical contact is assault and battery. If it was proven it was of a sexual nature it would be sexual assault.

Anybody who's defending sagan fancy failing the crb check to work with kids at their local club or be turned down for a job because they have a conviction for sexual assault ?

I don't think I've ever been more appalled at a set of comments on road.cc

I suggest that the entire thread be deleted.

my god there are some uptight wankers on here!!,fair enough,he was out of order to pinch her bum,but he hardly kicked the shit out her!

Still don't understand why we even have podium girls. An unpleasant sexist relic of times past. Can't we just ditch this bad tradition and move on to better things?

phax71

I imagine you'd probably find its the people in their "middle years" who are quickest to excuse this kind of stuff. Not sure how you get to the idea that not groping women in an unsolicited manner during your formative years is some kind of character flaw, but who am I to say? I'm totally uptight about the whole thing

I don't think the issue here was about having Sagan's "head on a stick", I think it was more about the disappointing "she was asking for it" response from the cycling community - which to be fair is not that much of a surprise given the sport's history of treating women cyclists as a second class group

I did it in a club once, she laughed, we got talking, and went out for a few weeks. Sure, it was a childish thing to do (I was 19); I should have just offered to buy her a drink (I think I apologised later). I wouldn't do it again, but neither was there any need for my head on a stick.

I wonder if those that defend him, or imply she should expect it as she's a podium girl, or bemoan 'political correctness' have any idea how creepy they sound?

It was foolish
It was wrong
Sagan is a young and foolish man (that's not a crime).

He's apologised
She's accepted apology

Move on, we've all done it (when young and foolish) and if you haven't it may explain why you're all so uptight and politically correct in your middle years..

Ultimately he made himself look stupid, he came off worst by far..

Grow up, nobody died ..

Sagan is a fool, I'd have bitten it

@chiswick

Absolutely. Bottom half of the internet as they say... Although to be honest I'm always particularly disappointed to read this kind of knuckle-dragging crap here

He got carried away in the moment. Being on the podium, and having the bottom of an attractive young lady thrust towards him...

He was unprofessional. She wasn't. An apology from him to her is in order, but it's hardly the end of the world.

Nuff said.

Those of us with wives & daughters see the sense in calling time on women as eyecandy at sports events. Sorry, but aren't we keen to *encourage* our wives/daughters to participate in this sport? FFS.

That some women come out in Sagan's defence is no defence. You can find women who think that beaten wives probably deserve it for being a bit lippy to their hard-working menfolk.

Sure, no-one likes being called a misogynist. Grow the fsck up cycling. You're bigger than this.

Just remembered why I had decided never to read the comments sections again. It really is better not to know that you share the same passion for a sport with some of the less than enlightened individuals above.

Oh Jeezus. 'She's a podium girl for a reason' What the hell does that mean?!!!
Personally It all seems a bit dated to me. That cheesy double kiss does make me cringe. And have noticed riders not looking completely comfortable with it either. You don't see Chippendale type boys on the podium at the Womens races.

When my wife and I see Sagan at the Amgen Tour of Cali she's going to ask him to pinch her butt so I can get a picture of it. She's got a little schoolgirl crush on him. HA!

Important things first. Is she on Facebook or Twitter?

stupid girl if she says it hasn't happened to her before, dear oh dear .. I don't care if she's a model or not, she's a podium girl for a reason ...

I assumed she was a model - although to be honest the point is a moot one as she could have had nothing to do with the race in any capacity and even have paid to be up there - she would still have the right not to get groped

A couple of points; Firstly she is not a model, it states in the piece that she works in the general secretariat of the Flanders classics, secondly, try it at your work place and see how much it costs you. Yes it probabli is a bit Las Vegas boxing/ring girls, also I have not had the privilege of seeing much women's racing, but I'll bet they don't have hunky chaps in shorts for the laydeez.

+1 for Spatulala, who summed it all up perfectly. Sagan did something really stupid and quite unpleasant. He apologised, as he should have done, but to be honest the nasty little misogynist comments springing up from fans all over the web are just as unpleasant. FFS, she was a model doing a paid job, and she shouldn't have to 'expect' to get touched up as an employment hazard - regardless of whether her job puts her in the public spotlight or otherwise.

Darren C - spot on too, Ned Boulting said something pretty similar the other day. The whole podium girl thing is cheesy and belongs to a different era - we don't need it in 2013 and the focus should be on encouraging womens cycling as a sport on an equal footing rather than limiting womens participation in major races to an accessory at a prize giving ceremony