CHRIS FROOME
● Froome and Thomas need treatment after protest mayhem
on how police tear gas brought chaos to the 16th stage of the Tour de France yesterday.
“I just felt my throat and nose were burning, my eyes
were burning afterwards”
After fans had caused chaos in the Alps by setting off flares, tear gas from police played havoc with Tour de France riders during the first stage in the Pyrenees yesterday.
Four-time champion Chris Froome was among a group of riders whose eyes needed treatment when police intervened to disperse farmers protesting against funding cuts by disrupting cycling’s biggest race.
Bales of hay blocked the road 30 kilometres (18.6 miles) into the 218km stage from Carcassonne to Bagneres-de-luchon. Tour organisers said police used tear gas to move the protesters as the peloton approached. Four-time champion Froome, race leader Geraint Thomas and world champion Peter Sagan were among those affected. Froome was treated with eye drops and Sagan poured water over his face to clean his eyes.
“I just felt my throat and nose were burning, eyes were burning afterwards,” Froome said. “But I think quite a lot of riders were in a similar situation. Thankfully the effect didn’t last long. It was just a temporary thing with stinging and burning.”
Thomas, who kept his overall lead intact on the finish line in Bagneres-de-luchon, said: “I was lucky that it did not affect me too much, I had a bit of tingling in the back of the throat but I used some water to wash it out.”
Frenchman Pierre Latour, who wears the white jersey for the best young rider, said he noticed police were using tear gas when he arrived at the road blockade.
“With the headwind, the gas came back to the peloton. Lots of us had to stop to drink and douse water over our eyes,” Latour said.
Stage 16 resumed after a 15-minute delay. Tour director Christian Prudhomme demanded more respect for riders. “The road should remain free, we are not going to lock the riders in a stadium or on a tennis court,” he said. “The riders’ job is extremely dangerous, they are taking risks every day, people should not block the road, no matter what causes they are fighting for.”
Belgian classics specialist Greg Van Avermaet said race organisers made a good decision by neutralising the stage, allowing the peloton to resume competing after three kilometres. “I was not affected because I was not in the first ten of the group,” he said. “I heard some of the guys had problems so I thought it was a good decision to stop and wait and bring everything together.”
Organisers have struggled to deal with protests against Froome’s participation in the Tour. After fans threw flares at riders in the climb to Alpe d’huez, the use of smoke flares was banned for the rest of the race.
Froome has raced under the cloud of a potential ban for using twice the permitted level of salbutamol during his victory at the Spanish Vuelta in September. He was cleared just before the Tour. He said he has been repeatedly spat at since the race started, and spectators have punched him and tried to make him fall off his bike.