NZ cyclist blasted for ‘disrespectful’ display of dominance over Aussie

An Aussie Commonwealth Games commentator has slammed a New Zealand cyclist for “disrespecting” his Australian competitor.

Unsurprisingly, though, NZ media didn’t seem to see it the same way.

The Daily Telegraph reports that Kate Bates, a veteran Australian track and road cyclist, was commentating the men’s 400m individual pursuit finals, with Australian Jordan Kerby and Dylan Kennett from NZ competing for the bronze medal at the Anna Meares Velodrome.

With one lap to so, Kennett was so far ahead of Kerby that he took his foot off the pedal – almost literally – by sitting up on his seat rather than crouching hunkered down as cyclists normally compete. And Bates didn’t like it.

“I have to say, a bit disrespectful to sit up at the end like that,” Bates said, according to the Daily Telegraph. “He didn’t sit up and appreciate the crowd and wave. He just sat up as if to show his dominance over the Australian.”

NZ media, however, celebrated Kennett’s triumph – he won the bronze with a time that was more than four seconds ahead of the Australian – without mentioning his apparently disrespectful action. TVNZ noted that Kennett had “thrashed” his Aussie rival to “cruise” to a bronze medal by “sitting up in his final lap after knowing he was well in front of Kerby”.

Radio New Zealand, meanwhile, said that Kennett had “dominated his race”, while the New Zealand Herald came the closest to saying that Kennett’s decision to sit up was a deliberate act of sporting dominance.

“With the finish line in his sights, the Kiwi rider switched from pedal-powered torpedo to channel his best mamil (middle-aged man in lycra) over the final 100m when he realised he was on the same straight as his opponent,” the newspaper reported. “He put an arm in the air and rose from his aerodynamic position in a statement which oozed confidence.”

Is such behaviour unsportsmanlike or disrespectful? Do you expect competitors to continue to exert maximum effort even if they’re clearly in a winning position?