Chaos at Tour de France After Leader Crashes Bike, Then Continues on Foot
Fans and race motorcyclists got in the way, knocking Chris Froome off his bike.
— -- There was pandemonium today at one of the most anticipated stages of cycling's biggest event of the year when overzealous fans blocked the course, leading to a crash that forced the overall leader of the race to run up the mountain sans his bike.
During a grueling ascent up Mont Ventoux in the Tour de France's 12th stage, cyclist Chris Froome and two other riders got tangled up with a motorcycle, which reportedly stopped suddenly due to spectators encroaching into the road. The crash happened less than 1 kilometer to the finish line.
News coverage showed footage of a rider slamming into a cameraman, and photos posted to social media show fans standing dangerously close to the course holding signs.
After Froome eventually got a replacement bike from a team car following the racers, he crossed the line 1 minute and 40 seconds behind one of the riders who crashed with him and 44 seconds behind the other rider who crashed with him, according to the BBC. But race officials eventually gave all three riders the same time.
That means Froome kept the yellow jersey, worn by the rider leading the so-called general classification.
Cyclists have expressed anger toward overzealous spectators taking selfies throughout the race, saying it's dangerous when the fans turn their backs away from the speeding bikes to get a photo. On Saturday, Froome was fined by race officials for punching a spectator who ran alongside Froome on another mountain ascent, almost snagging Froome's handlebars in the flag that the spectator was carrying.