Cycling: Winner's post-race taunt cuts deeply

Chris Jenner let his legs do the talking for five days but yesterday it was his mouth that hurt beaten Tour of Wellington rivals Avanti the most.

The Fuji Xerox team member had just been crowned champion when he suggested that world junior champion Jeremy Yates would have won if his Avanti team-mates had looked after him better.

The barb was directed mainly at Avanti team leader Graeme Miller, who finished 1m 22s down on Jenner in second place after the tour ended a stage early yesterday.

The final stage, a criterium around Frank Kitts Park, was altered and did not count towards the final classification.

"If Graeme and his Avanti team had looked after Jeremy Yates then Jeremy Yates would have won the tour because he's got better form than me," Jenner said.

The controversy erupted when Jenner was asked about Miller's gutsy ride for second place over the five-day tour. "He rode a good tour but unfortunately what I don't like about Graeme is he always criticises everybody," Jenner said.

"An example was when Jeremy Yates was taking a leak the other day and he [Miller] criticised us for attacking. But we didn't actually know what was going on and if he wanted Jeremy up there, it was up to him to go back and pick him up."

Miller, who hill-climbed surprisingly well all week and thoroughly deserved his runner-up finish, was not impressed with Jenner's verbal attack.

"For Chris to have a crack at me is childish," he said. "If I should have gone back to help Jeremy then he [Jenner] should have gone back to help [Fuji Xerox team-mate] Brendon Vesty when he got dropped on the Wallaceville circuit on Saturday.

"At that stage I was the highest person in our team on general classification, so you don't do that. You always fire the first shot from the barrel, don't you?

"That was really unfortunate for Jeremy, but it's not the first time it's going to happen to him. He's only 18 and he's going to have his ups and downs, but I think he's showed everybody here he's going to be an awesome talent."

Yates came third in Saturday's Wallaceville circuit and second up the tortuous Hawkins Hill yesterday. It was his burst up Wallaceville Hill that broke the challenge of Vesty, then tour leader, and enabled Miller to claim second place.

On Hawkins Hill, Yates showed a glimpse of his undoubted ability by dropping Jenner to finish 26s behind stage winner Vesty.

"It [tour racing] is all pretty new to me at the moment," said the Hastings teenager, who came fourth, 2m 25s down on Jenner, "but hopefully I'll come back stronger."

- NZPA