The Tour de France started on stage 1 with unfortunate events. This competition, considered to be one of the most important for professional cyclists, suffered two scary looking crashes in which some riders got hurt badly. This is not a first on cycling competition since fans are always very close to the road where riders are going at high speeds and sometimes, they get on the road.
Table of Contents
1st Crash
Very early in the race, with approximately 47km remaining on the first stage of the Tour de France, you could see the peloton moving very fast when suddenly a lot of riders are hitting the ground and their bikes go flying across the road. Everyone wondered what happened and after watching the footage it was noticeable how a fan steps into the road with the peloton approaching and decides to show a sign to the cameras that said: “Allez Opi-Omi” which means “come on grandad-granny”, in a mix of German and French. Tony Martin who was at the front of the peloton was already having some trouble dodging some fans who were too close into the road and unfortunately could not dodge this woman with her sign.
Martin fell and this led to a chain reaction in which you could see several riders such as Wout van Aert, Primoz Roglic, Sonny Colbrelli and more that are considered favourites to win this tour fall and get injured. Some people say that the scariest thing about this crash is that by the time Martin stopped sliding along the road the spectator that got in his way was already out of the helicopter shot, showing that she instantly ran away.
2nd Crash
If the crash at the beginning of the stage was not bad enough, there was another crash almost at the end of it. Having almost 6km remaining on the stage, a rider from the team B&B Hotels fell and took down almost half of the peloton that was with him. One of the riders that fell was Chris Froome who is a four-time winner of the Tour and was in discomfort from the situation, he just returned to the Tour de France and he did not want to start it with injuries. This crash led to a horrible sight in which a fan got hit and several riders were badly injured.
Consequences left by the Tour de France crashes
The 1st crash was caused by a fan and the authorities from the Tour de France know, they started an investigation and she will probably have some consequences for her actions, according to some sources she might get sued. Three riders abandoned the race after the incidents and some had to go to the hospital. For the 2nd crash, the authorities have determined that is a normal accident that happened and would not look any further into it.
Let’s hope this is the last time we have to hear from incidents like this in a competition such as the Tour de France, and for the fans that attend these types of events, be responsible for your safety and the rider’s safety!
