- Nathan Van Hooydonck blushed on TV
- Retired cyclist cursed while on expert duty
- He left his fellow stitch experts with their comments.
Cycling star Nathan Van Hooydonck was left blushing after a hilarious moment on live TV while covering the Giro d’Italia.
Van Hooydonck, 27, retired from the sport last year due to heart problems and was invited to the Eurosport panel to discuss the day’s events, but it became clear that the Dutchman needs to brush up on his skills in the air.
Reflecting on a race at Tirrendo-Adriatico a few years ago, Van Hooydonck’s anecdote contained a couple of bad words.
“It was a very hard pace in the peloton,” he began. ‘(Tadej) Pogocar’s team was cruising around and I was struggling with the wheels and he stopped for a moment and I looked at him and thought, ‘Wow, he stops for a moment right now!’
Presenter Orla Chennaoui was quick to jump in and remind Van Hooydonck: “We say pee, we say pee.”
Nathan Van Hooydonck left blushing after swearing four times on live TV
The 27-year-old retired from cycling last year due to heart problems.
‘Oh I’m sorry!’ the 27-year-old said. “He stopped to urinate.”
“A jingle,” Chennaoui replied. ‘That’ll do!’
After the cheerful warning, Van Hooydonck continued his story and left the panel in stitches when he immediately forgot the “no bad words” rule.
“And he came back in no time,” he said of Pogocar. “The peloton was very stretched and he just fell back very easily.
“Then I heard him say to his teammates, ‘ugh, they’re hurting in the back, huh?’
“I looked at him and thought, ‘Fuck, you don’t know how strong you are!’
Laughing, Chennaoui said, “Apologies again, we’re not allowed to use the f-word on TV.”
A stunned Van Hooydonck exclaimed: ‘Oh shit!’ which left the rest of the panel, including Australian cycling hero Robbie McEwen, in stitches.
‘We use it liberally in the green room, but we try not to do it on TV!’ Chennaoui finished as the show progressed.
He was commentating the Giro D’Italia for Eurosport
Van Hooydonck was fitted with an internal defibrillator to help treat a heart muscle abnormality, after he was involved in a car accident last year when he became ill at the wheel.
“I realize I was incredibly lucky,” Van Hooydonck said.
‘Things could have been different if I hadn’t received good help so quickly. I’m fine now, but I still have to deal with the fact that this marks the end of my professional career.
“I would like to express my gratitude to the people who helped me, the medical team at the hospital and all the fans who sent me messages.”