The Tour de France was thrown into disarray when a spectator caused a crash during the competition’s 15th stage because they were apparently trying to take a picture.
The incident happened on Sunday when riders were cycling from Les Gets les Portes du Soleil to Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc. During the stretch, American cyclist Sepp Kuss was biking on the right-hand side of the road when he ran into the outstretched arm of a spectator who reportedly had a cell phone in their hand because they were taking a selfie.
The contact clearly threw Kuss off balance, causing him to fall down and take several others with him, causing a blockade for the racers behind them.
Cycling News reported that Kuss sustained cuts to his elbow and knee, but remounted the bike and carried on with the race. He spoke to the outlet about the incident later on, shrugging off his injuries as he explained “There was a narrowing in a town. We were just trying to slow down the peloton (pack) to let the break go, and then just on the side, unfortunately, somebody wanted to get a selfie. I didn’t really see it coming.”
“Luckily the adrenaline got me through the day,” he added. “I mean you just have to keep going, there’s nothing else to do about it. It’s inconvenient, but it could have been worse, and I still felt pretty good on the bike.”
While pile-ups are not uncommon during the Tour de France, there has been concern in recent years about incidents caused by spectators watching the race live. In 2021, a crash occurred when a woman held a cardboard sign out as she stood next to the bike lane, and it clipped a cyclist who rode by, causing a domino effect that caught numerous racers in the resulting fall.
The incident at the 15th stage caused numerous officials to warn onlookers to mind their conduct, with Dutch cycling Team Jumbo-Visma tweeting “Please be always aware when watching cycling at the side of the road.”
Jonas Vingegaard, the race’s current leader, also said in a statement “I’d like to tell the spectators to enjoy the race and be there to cheer for us without standing on the road or pouring beers on us. Please, just enjoy the race.”
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