Tokyo Olympics: German coach condemned for racist comments during men's time trial

Riders, the German cycling federation, and the UCI have condemned German cycling coach Patrick Moster for shouting racist language during the men’s Olympic time trial Wednesday.

Moster was heard on camera shouting “get the camel riders” in German as he ran along the road behind Nikias Arndt. The German rider was chasing Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier of Eritrea and Azzedine Lagab of Algeria, who had set off ahead of him in the time trial.

Lagab made a short comment on Twitter after the incident, saying: “Well, there is no camel race in Olympics that’s why I came to cycling. At least I was there in Tokyo 2020.”

The German federation and Arndt were quick to condemn Moster’s comments, though the federation did not say whether or not he would face any further action.

“[The team] stands for compliance with the Olympic values of respect, fair play and tolerance and lives them in all of their sporting competitions,” German federation president, Alfons Hörmann said.

“The Olympics and cycling stand for tolerance, respect, and fairness. I represent these values 100 percent and take my hat off to all the great athletes who have come from all over the world here in Tokyo.”

The UCI issued a statement on it later Wednesday, saying that his comments had no place within cycling.

“I was cheering on Nikias Arndt. In the heat of the moment and with the overall burden that we have here at the moment, I have used the wrong choice of words. I am so sorry, I can only sincerely apologize. I didn’t want to upset anyone,” Moster said.