Your pals at Canadian Cycling Magazine post lots of content about lousy drivers, but every now and then we gotta switch it up.
A cyclist once branded “the most hated in the world” after a viral video appeared to show him knocking over a young girl on a snowy trail on Christmas Day in 2020 has lost a lengthy court battle. but he still insists he did nothing wrong.
Worse, he didn’t even check to see if the girl was OK (thankfully she was.) After years of not knowing who this absolute winner was, he’s finally been “unmasked,” as reported by the oh-so venerable and very serious British outlet, Daily Mail.
The original lawsuit
Belgian cyclist Jacques Davenne had originally sued the girl’s father, Patrick Mpasa, for defamation after Mpasa posted the footage online. Davenne argued the video violated his privacy and unleashed a wave of online outrage that left him feeling unsafe and afraid to leave his home. “I did nothing wrong… I rang my bell several times,” Davenne, who happens to be a president of a local cycling club, said.
At first, a court ruled in the cyclist’s favour and ordered the family to pay around seven grand Canadian in compensation. But after a three-year legal fight, an appeals court in Liège overturned that decision this week, siding with the girl’s parents and ruling that publishing the footage fell under freedom of expression.
The video
In an interview Davenne said he was still irked about the decision and is considering further legal action.
“I’m upset the case went against me as I still feel I did nothing wrong,” he said. “I’m going to have a meeting with my lawyer to see if we can take it further.”
He insisted the real issue was the video being shared online. “My image being posted online, that wasn’t fair and social media can be a huge problem. He had no right to do that,” he said.
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The footage shows the dude emerging from a bend near Verviers, Belgium. Then, he collides with the girl, sending her tumbling into the snow. The clip quickly spread around the world after being posted to Facebook.
Davenne claims the collision was accidental. “I was cycling along the track very gently,” he said. “I rang my bell several times, but they obviously didn’t hear me. As I passed, I slipped and lost my balance slightly.”
“To avoid falling, I put my leg out to balance myself,” he added. “I didn’t realize I had hit her and that she had fallen over.”
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But prosecutors disputed that explanation, arguing he had been irritated by pedestrians on the path and struck the girl deliberately with what they described as a “knee punch.”
The girl’s father previously said the cyclist never apologized. “He asked us to withdraw the police complaint, but he showed no remorse,” Mpasa said at the time.
Despite the backlash, Davenne says the ordeal won’t stop him riding. “I am still cycling and I intend to carry on,” he said. “It’s part of my life.”
Basically the lesson here? Don’t be this guy.