STOP THE VICIOUS CYCLE
Froome demands more help from Tour chiefs as ‘fan’ throws flare at the riders
CHRIS FROOME called on Tour de France organisers to give riders more protection – on the day a yellow smoke bomb was tossed into the peloton.
After the unruly chaos of the Alpe d’Huez, where Froome was cuffed and pushed, Le Tour’s fourtime champion and current leader Geraint Thomas stayed top of the leaderboard following a more orderly stage 13.
But around 10 miles from the end of a 103-mile ride from Bourg d’Oisans to Valence, on a largely unpopulated stretch of road, one cretinous spectator lobbed a flare belching yellow smoke into the main bunch.
If it was for the attention of Team Sky, it landed behind their group on the road – and Thomas, in the Yellow Jersey for a third night, admitted he did not notice it.
But Froome, who has borne the brunt of antiTeam Sky sentiment, warned security needed reinforcing as he relived madcap scenes on the 21 hairpin bends of Alpe d’Huez.
Italian Vincenzo Nibali, the 2014 champion, was forced to abandon the race, fracturing a vertebrae after crashing on an overcrowded stretch, garnished with more stupid flares, on Thursday night.
Froome said: “During the race, it is the responsibility of the organisers to protect the riders.
“What happened on the Alpe d’Huez is not right. Nobody wants to see that. You cannot touch, push or strike the riders. That’s not acceptable.
“There were a few incidents – the organisers had tried to put in a few special precautions to stop those kind of things from happening. It’s a step in the right direction, but I think there are more measures that can be taken, for sure.
“I was pushed a few times but, thankfully, I stayed on my bike and didn’t get knocked off.
“When you’ve got fans interfering with the riders, who are giving everything to try and get up the climb, that’s not a situation anyone wants to see.”
There was a new rope cordon at ‘Dutch Corner’ on bend No.7, heavily populated by travelling fans from Holland, and extra barriers penning spectators by the kerb further down the mountain.
But it was not enough to stop lone-wolf hooligans, and race director Christian Prudhomme branded the behaviour of a small minority by the roadside immoral.
He said: “We need to restore calm and respect all the riders.
“It was a very annoying climb of the Alpe d’Huez. The riders on the Tour, and champions of the Tour, must be respected, as they are by the large majority of the public.”
“By the road it was very calm for 10 days, with only a few anti-Froome or antiSky placards. But, at a stroke, it all went up again.
“I can only renew my appeals for calm. It is a paradox that Vincenzo Nibali, who has nothing to do with Team Sky, ended up on the tarmac.”
World champion Peter Sagan won his third stage of the Tour (right), pipping Alexander Kristoff on the line in Valence.
Slovakian Sagan said: “It’s very difficult to control everyone, especially on the last climb with thousands of people who are so emotional and want to let it all out.
“People are everywhere, they want to be close to the riders, but an incident like that can take you out.”