There are many mothers who watch the Tour de France on television,” Marc Madiot, Groupama – FDJ team manager, said at the finish in Pontivy. There are many children who watch the Tour de France. There are many families who watch the Tour de France on television. Riding his first Grand Tour as a team leader, Haig left La Grande Boucle with a broken collarbone. Several more crashes in the final 10 kilometres saw Roglič himself and another two GC leaders, Miguel Ángel López of Movistar and Jack Haig of Bahrain-Victorious, come unstuck. Two days later, on Stage 3 and still in Brittany, another former winner in Geraint Thomas was involved in a crash along with Robert Gesink, another team-mate of Roglič, who abandoned shortly thereafter. The same stage, with 7.5 kilometres left to race, a touch of wheels brought down four-time champion Chris Froome among others, who finished more than 14 minutes in arrears. Not just the €2,228,450 total prize-money that was up for grabs: it’s a rider’s potential to negotiate a increased salary, find a new team, or keep their current job-or in a team’s case, keep their sponsor happy or find a new one, as well as maintain their place in the WorldTour. It certainly cost some riders and teams far more in lost earnings. “All that preparation has gone into the bin.”Īfter fleeing the scene-who could blame her? She must’ve been the country’s most wanted person!-French authorities found, arrested and charged the 30-year-old Breton woman with two offences: ‘endangering others through a manifestly deliberate violation of a duty of prudence or safety’ and ‘involuntarily causing injuries that lead to an inability to work for up to three months’.Ī court in Brest will judge the case in October, with a fine up to €1,500 (A$2,373) pending their decision.
“This message is for the people who think that the Tour de France is a circus, for the people who risk everything for a selfie with a 50kph-fast peloton…please respect the riders and the Tour de France,” the German, on the day of his crash, wrote on Instagram.ĭozens more were involved including Movistar’s Marc Soler, who abandoned after riding the remaining 45 kilometres with two broken hands: “I don’t know what to do, I think I will sue the spectator because it’s a whole Tour thrown away and I feel a lot of anger,” he said at the time. Tony Martin, a key lieutenant for pre-race favourite Primož Roglič, bore the brunt of the impact, though miraculously got up and survived the next nine stages before succumbing to injuries. I wasn’t aware there was a veteran’s Tour de France going on at the same time…
A massive pile-up during the first stage in the northwest French region of Brittany was caused by a spectator holding a cardboard sign-“ALLEZ OPI OMI!”, a blend of French and German which translates to “Go grandpa grandma”-who was looking at the TV camera rather than a pack of 180-odd riders hurtling towards her.
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