Tour de France rider makes '˜inappropriate' hostess comment

Jan Bakelants of Belgium was accused of making derogatory remarks about the Tour de France podium hostesses. Picture: Christophe Ena/AP

Tour de France rider Jan Bakelants has apologised for 'inappropriate' comments about female hostesses at the race's daily award ceremonies, saying he was trying to be funny.

Belgian media quoted Bakelants as saying in an interview that he packed condoms for the race because “you never know where those podium hostesses have been hanging out”.

It also quoted him as saying that three weeks without sex on the Tour wasn’t difficult because “there’s always the podium misses.”

Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme demanded an apology.

Belgium’s Bakelants, who rides for the AG2R La Mondiale team, obliged on Thursday, tweeting: “My sincerest apologies to all those offended by my words in a so called humouristic itw. My words have been inappropriate.”