Fans killing the TdF

[TrimTheKing]

Poor scenes on Ventoux today where fans caused a motorbike to have to drop anchor, causing the racers to plow into him and wrecking Froome's bike.

He went from 20+ seconds ahead to 53 seconds back all because idiots try to get too close to the riders.

Race officials discussing it now but they surely have to neutralise the race from just before the crash otherwise they're making a rod for their backs.

Cheers
Mark

 

[StevieB]

+1 - total nightmare for the cyclists. I reckon that cost Froome a good 15-20 seconds even with being given Moluma's time since the group behind were altered as well. Fortunately with Quintana being the only serious challenger, he doesn't look to have the legs to beat Froome on a stage race - should make tomorrows TT interesting however, and probably decisive. Big disappointment for me has been Geriant Thomas - real power house last year but early out the back on most stages this year - not sure if he is doing more work early on the cameras don't show us or not? Big surprise - Yates, doing fantastically well, and Dan Martin (before today at any rate).

As for the crowds, I do wonder whether, since they shortened the stage, they were just a bit too dense for the roads as everyone compacted into the shortened climb - you usually get the idiots with the flags but this was excessive. Not novel though - Armstrong got tipped off once due to a spectator catching a bag handle on the bars of his bike and several times a year we see riders elbowing over exuberant fans (or worse) and who can blame them.

This year does seem a bit of a procession though - it is Froome's to lose surely.

Steve

 

[TrimTheKing]

Yes I agree, probably the same number of fans squeezed into 6k less road.

G has been doing a lot of the work early season on the classics and monuments so maybe taken a bit more out of himself this year. Also, he's the one doing the initial hand graft keeping the pace high to keep Sky at the front of the peloton so maybe he's doing more than last year too, dunno.


Cheers
Mark

 

[AndyP]

Had to watch the whole thing in a combination of dutch and german so very difficult to understand what was going on. Thankfully online txt unpdates on the bbc and others made it clear.

This type of accident has been waiting to happen for as long as I can remember and the organisers have the audacity to fine CF for lashing out at a spectator a few stages back. It would not have been hard to predict 6ks of supporters would be jammed further down the hill .

I am not sure how well off for cash the organisers are but even 5k of barriers would not break the bank surely.

No such shenanigans in Troon.

 

[Mike G]

With all the millions that the TdF makes they can't afford to put barriers or marshals on the climbs :eusa-snooty: . Sooner or later the riders are going to protest...........stopping at the bottom of the next climb en masse, for instance. The drunken morons running alongside the bikes are bad enough, but the flags! My god, anyone who has ever sat on a bike would know how dangerous flapping bits of material are around a bike. Now we can add in the idiocy of selfie sticks.