Wordplay by De Gendt hits the wrong note with Valter: "I don't find this funny"

For Visma | Lease a Bike, the fifth stage of the Giro was one they would quickly want to forget. Olav Kooij (ninth) didn't quite find his rhythm in the bunch sprint, while Christophe Laporte and Attila Valter had an encounter with the asphalt earlier in the race. Thomas De Gendt made a joke on X regarding Valter's crash, but the Hungarian champion didn't appreciate it.

Initially, Valter responded with a questioning smiley face to Fleming's X-message, who replied in English. "It's about a joke with your name. Your Dutch teammates will explain it," the experienced rider clarified.

However, Valter didn't find it amusing, as his subsequent reaction showed. "They explained it. I don't like it," came his short but firm reply. De Gendt, in turn, couldn't resist responding to that as well. "It's a matter of taste, don't worry," said the seasoned rider.

See: De Gendt and Valter discuss on X