Fan Apologizes for Selfie with Collapsed Cyclist

Credit: Instagram user "kramon_velophoto"

After Marcel Kittel won Sunday’s Giro d’Italia stage into Dublin, an Irish cycling fan approached the collapsed German sprinter and took a selfie. The “photographer” David McCarthy was quickly excoriated by the cycling community for his opportunistic—and remarkably bold—actions.

Credit: Instagram user "DavidMcCarthy12"

As any polite young man behaves following a breach of etiquette, McCarthy reached out through Irish cyclist Nicholas Roche to Kittel and the offended public with an apology letter. Well, an apology iPhone Notes screenshot.

“I got excited to see marcel [sic] and wanted a photo and in hindsight looking back I understand the time and place was complete wrong. My sincere apologies.”

Though unconfirmed, it seems likely Kittel accepted the apology. McCarthy already had a number of selfies with cycling’s sprinting phenom, one captioned: “We hugged and he told me well [sic] be best friends forever.”