Around 20 riders fell off their bikes
A fan trying to take a selfie caused a crash on stage 15 of the Tour de France with about 20 riders coming off their bikes.
With about 125km remaining, Team Jumbo-Visma rider Sepp Kuss had his handlebars knocked by a supporter who was holding out a phone.
Kuss swerved into team-mate Nathan van Hooydonck who fell off his bike, causing a crash behind him.
Saturday’s stage 14 saw six riders abandon after crashes.
All the riders who fell in yesterday’s crash on the 179km stage from Les Gets les Portes du Soleil to Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc were able to continue, including 2019 champion Egan Bernal.
General classification leader Jonas Vingegaard and second-placed Tadej Pogacar were unaffected.
Team Jumbo-Visma tweeted: “Please be always aware when watching cycling at the side of the road.”
Shortly after the incident, Tour de France’s official Twitter account posted a slow-motion video of a rider ducking under a spectator’s outstretched arm with the message: “Please pay attention to the riders.”
Team Confidis also tweeted: “Please be careful. So that the party remains a party for the runners but also for you. You don’t need a cell phone to create mind-blowing memories.”
This is not the first time a spectator has caused such a crash.
Following 2021’s ‘Omi & Opi’ scandal, in which a young woman caused a huge pile-up on stage one of the Tour holding up a message in German to her grandparents, riders have been more wary of fans wanting to get close to the action.
Cycling’s world governing body the UCI introduced a range of measures under the Safer banner just before this race, which incorporates better assessments of high-speed descents following the death of Gino Mader last month, and more management of crowds.
Across a season, the list of rider casualties is too long, but road cycling is a unique sport, growing in popularity, which trades on the volatility of competing out in the open.
One of the race’s worst crashes occurred in the 2021 Tour de France, when a Frenchwoman clipped German rider Tony Martin on the first stage.
She was ordered to pay a symbolic one euro fine, and after receiving a barrage of abuse her identity was withheld.