No more smoke on the peloton? Cycling fan petitions government to ban sale of non-emergency flares, slamming “people choking cyclists with nasty polluting stuff”

They’ve engulfed the peloton in thick, heavy orange fog on the Capo Berta at Milan-Sanremo, and created a lung-searing yellow corridor on Alpe d’Huez at the Tour de France. They’ve been waved alarmingly close to riders’ faces as they winch their way up iconic climbs, and lodged firmly (and worryingly) in the backsides of inebriated England football fans.

But if one cycling fan gets his way, the sight – and smell – of smoke flares could be a thing of the past, after he petitioned the government to ban their sale in the UK.

Cyclist Philip Sinclair, who said he has inhaled the “foul, polluting” smoke caused by flares both as a roadside spectator and as a participant in numerous sportive events, has this week launched a petition to parliament calling for the “ban of the sale and usage of smoke flares for non-emergency usage”, a move he hopes will be the first step towards an international ban.

Smoke flares have been an increasingly common, and controversial, sight in pro cycling in recent years, with many criticising their use by fans and noting both their potential to start fires and the harm they inflict upon riders forced to breathe in heavy smoke while racing at their physical capacity.

In 2018, French police and Tour de France organisers ASO banned the use of flares at the race after they were thrown in the direction of riders on Alpe d’Huez, advising local officers to arrest anyone breaking the order, which carries a maximum sentence of a year in prison.

And at the following year’s Milan-Sanremo, a fire started on the Capo Berta climb – the now-traditional setting for a flare-based ‘spectacle’ at La Primavera – thanks to flare-wielding fans, leading to a one-year sporting ban for the perpetrators.

“No genuine cycling fans lights smoke flares on a mountain stage,” one Tour de France viewer wrote on social media following another incident during the 2023 race.

“The riders have made it absolutely clear they hate the smoke. No genuine fan would set them off. Incredible that ‘fans’ think they add anything to the spectacle.”

Speaking to road.cc about his petition, which requires 10,000 signatures before the government is forced to respond to it and 100,000 for it to be considered for debate in parliament, Sinclair, who now lives in Switzerland, said: “I’ve done the Etape du Tour 14 times, and it was there I had many problems, including the ‘Dutch corner’ going up Alpe d’Huez with the smoke flares.

“Here began my dislike of people choking cyclists who were already on their limits with nasty polluting smoke.”

He continued: “As an ex-smoker for some reason I find that smoke makes me really suffer and I am very sensitive to it. I also rode the Felice Gimondi gran fondo 14 times in Bergamo, and on the Colle Gallo there were also flares.

“I want to see smoke flares banned from sale and usage for non-emergency use, because they are polluting, not environmentally friendly, and people have to inhale the toxic smoke they make. I have been in too many cycle races where I have had to choke on this foul polluting stuff.”

“I started a petition in the UK as a first step. I would like to follow up this with a ban in other countries,” he tells road.cc. “I needed to find a country to start banning the use of these flares. As a UK citizen, the UK government was an obvious choice. I am also bi-national Swiss, but these flares are not really used in Switzerland.

“I have both a cycling concern as it is awful, especially on a mountain climb. I also find them not environmentally friendly. I do not really see the point of them. They are also critical for emergency use and military use. Therefore, they shouldn’t be misused for celebratory purposes.

“They also affect other sports. Today we saw them all over the football celebrations in the UK. I ultimately hope that these awful things are banned for general usage and sale. They are meant for specific uses.”

> “No plans” to save free-to-air Tour de France coverage, as fan behind dismissed petition asks: “Does the government truly care about growing cycling?”

Phil’s call for a flare ban isn’t the only cycling-themed petition to land on the government’s table this year.

At the start of April, cycling YouTuber Peter Treadway launched a petition urging the government to reclassify the Tour de France as a ‘Category A’ sporting event, similar to the FA Cup final, Wimbledon, and the Grand National, meaning live coverage of the race must be made available on free-to-air channels in the UK.

The petition, which has so far attracted almost 15,000 signatures, was made in response to the loss of the Tour on free-to-air TV in the UK from 2026, which Treadway argued will worsen the already declining fortunes of Britain’s domestic road racing scene, as well as reducing cycling’s visibility and participation levels, harming its ability to increase the nation’s physical and mental health, tackle congestion, and lower emissions.

However, in response to the petition, the Labour government admitted that while it “recognises concerns” about the lack of free-to-air coverage of cycling’s biggest race, it currently has “no plans” to intervene to protect the Tour under British broadcasting law.

Instead, the government noted that all decisions related to TV coverage of sporting events are ultimately based on commercial interests, and that the current list of free-to-air sporting events “strikes the right balance between encouraging access to a number of sporting events and maximising broadcasting income”.