Vicenzo Nibali
Tour de France Stage 2 Winner Vicenzo Nibali attempted to kiss a podium girl after his victory, but he was denied. Reuters

Tour de France Stage 2 winner Vicenzo Nibali hoped to celebrate his strong performance with a kiss. Instead, he was met with rejection.

Clad in the yellow jersey given to the Tour de France’s current leader, Nibali, a cyclist from Messina, Italy, celebrated his Stage 2 victory on Sunday next to a pair of “podium girls.” But when the 29-year-old contender leaned in for a celebratory kiss, one of the podium girls rejected him in hilarious fashion.

Present at the conclusion of each Tour de France stage, podium girls are tasked with facilitating the post-race festivities. Traditionally, a podium girl hands the victorious cyclist some sort of gift, such as flowers or, in this case, a stuffed animal. Afterward, the cyclist and the podium girl typically exchange a kiss on each cheek.

Unfortunately for Nibali, he appeared to lean in for the kiss before the podium girl could hand him his prize. As a result, he accidentally threw off the timing of the whole procedure and caused an awkward, viral Internet moment.

Nibali can’t be too upset about his rejected attempt at a kiss. The Astana team leader claimed victory in what is regarded as one of the Tour de France’s most difficult stages. After Stage 2, he held a slim first-place lead over Peter Sagan of Team Cannondale.

Stage 3 of the Tour de France will air from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. ET on the NBC Sports Network.

[h/t For The Win]

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