It may have been swiftly forgotten amid the euphoric scenes that followed Mark Cavendish’s sensational, record-breaking 35th Tour de France stage win yesterday afternoon, but the 2024 Tour’s patchy record of fans causing or almost causing crashes continued a matter of minutes before that stunning finish in Saint-Vulbas – when an oblivious spectator encroached onto the road to take a photo, almost bringing most of the Visma-Lease a Bike team, including reigning double Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard, down.
The close call, which took place with just over 16km remaining of stage five, as the sprinters’ and GC teams ramped up the pace, came just days after the Tour organisers issued a warning telling anyone venturing to the roadside to watch the race to “please respect the riders” and “stay away from the road”, after a fan filming the race had their mobile phone knocked from their hand when they inadvertently hit a rider from EF Education-EasyPost as the peloton passed at speed during stage two.
The latest near miss on stage five, luckily, didn’t lead to any contact between the riders and the spectator in question, who was stood on a narrow hard shoulder in an attempt to take a photo or video of the speeding peloton on his phone.
> Mark Cavendish makes history with record-breaking 35th Tour de France stage win
However, with both Vingegaard’s Visma-Lease a Bike team and race leader Tadej Pogačar’s UAE Team Emirates squad battling for position on the left-hand side of the road during the tricky run-in, the spectator soon found himself directly in the path of the riders.
Paris-Nice winner Matteo Jorgenson, stationed just in front of his team leader Vingegaard, could be seen waving frantically at the spectator, before being forced, along with a number of riders from Lotto-Dstny, to duck under the fan’s outstretched elbow.
Finally realising the folly of his position on the road, just as some of the world’s best cyclists narrowly avoided hitting him, the spectator lurched back towards the grass verge, as Jorgenson shook his head in frustration.
Yeahh, we don’t need a stage ruined because of a basic photo taken on a phone#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/z8OupXvXUN
— Mathew Mitchell (@MatMitchell30) July 3, 2024
“The bloke’s taking a photo on the side of the road and putting himself amongst the peloton, they’re ducking under his elbow – another close call,” an exasperated Robbie McEwen, a 12-time Tour de France stage winner, said while commentating for Eurosport.
“With all the variables involved in a bunch sprint, we don’t need the spectators getting involved,” added Ned Boulting on ITV4.
Meanwhile, on social media, fans were scathingly critical of the latest oblivious, phone-wielding spectator to almost cause a crash at this year’s race.
“We don’t need a stage ruined because of a basic photo taken on a phone,” said cycling writer Mathew Mitchell on X, formerly Twitter.
“The good news: the roads are dry again. The bad news: the people are still idiots, staying with their phones in the road,” wrote Mihai Simon.
“The moment you step on the road it’s like if you invade the pitch in a football game – because the road IS the pitch of the riders,” added the La Flamme Rouge account.
Visma-Lease a Bike’s impromptu bout of spectator-induced ducking and diving was, remarkably, the third time in the Tour’s opening five stages that encroaching fans have caused a nuisance, or worse, for the race’s riders.
As noted earlier, during Sunday’s stage from Cesenatico to Bologna, an EF Education-EasyPost rider was hit by a spectator’s elbow as she filmed the race, sending her phone flying but thankfully not causing a crash.
And on Saturday, before the Tour had even rolled out of Florence for its opening stage, Soudal Quick-Step rider Jan Hirt was riding from the race sign-on area to his team bus, when he crashed after tangling with a backpack belonging to a spectator – who had allegedly “jumped a barrier”, along with several others, to enter an area prohibited to fans – breaking three teeth and busting his lip in the process, a bizarre fall described by Hirt’s team boss Patrick Lefevere as “unacceptable”.
Those two incidents prompted the official Tour de France account on Twitter/X to post a video of Sunday’s close call as a warning to spectators, urging roadside fans to “respect the riders” and “stay away from the road”.
The issue of fans encroaching on the road as the peloton passes, especially while taking photos, has been an increasingly prominent one in recent years – and one that has affected Visma-Lease a Bike a seemingly disproportionate number of times.
On stage 15 of the 2023 Tour to Saint-Gervais, a mass crash was caused by a spectator leaning into the road to take a photo, taking out key Visma climber Sepp Kuss.
The resulting pile-up also saw Kuss’s teammate Nathan Van Hooydonck affected, while 2019 Tour winner Egan Bernal and Eritrean sensation Biniam Girmay also crashed.
Jorgenson, Vingegaard, and co.’s lucky escape during yesterday’s stage to Saint-Vulbas also brought to mind the infamous incident from the opening stage of the 2021 Tour, when a fan brandishing a sign emblazoned with ‘Allez Opi-Omi’, and looking in the opposite direction, clipped Jumbo-Visma’s Tony Martin, causing a mass pile-up and leaving three riders, including Martin, too injured to continue the race.
The 31-year-old, who initially fled the scene but turned herself into police four days later, was fined €1,200 and also ordered to pay a symbolic €1 to the French Cycling Union, UNCP.
She had been charged with “endangering others by manifestly deliberate violation of a regulatory obligation of safety and prudence”, causing “involuntary injuries, with incapacity not exceeding three months”.
The maximum penalty she could have faced was a €15,000 fine and/or 12 months’ imprisonment, although prosecutors had sought a four-month suspended sentence, which they said was intended to act as a “warning”.
Ultimately, she avoided jail time but received a hefty fine, the woman saying she felt “ashamed” by her actions and was left to “regret my stupidity”.
Last year’s selfie-related spill also came just days after Stef Cras was forced to abandon the Tour when a spectator leaned into the road and caused a crash, and a flag being waved by a fan got stuck in the wheels of Lilian Calmejane, causing Cras to claim some fans “have no respect” for the riders.
15 thoughts on ““We don’t need a stage ruined because of a basic photo taken on a phone”: Tour de France fan almost brings down Jonas Vingegaard while stepping into road to take photo of speeding peloton”
Anyone who cycles and has had
Anyone who cycles and has had pedestrians step out in front of them either deliberately or recklessly (at any speed) will be thinking the same (what a total idiot) but why do so many “fans” do it?
Perhaps one of the lead motorcycles should be equipped with a (non lethal) snow plough type attachment or a pillion passenger with a boxing glove to knock some sense into them before the pelaton arrives?
No doubt the resulting carnage would end up in their path but it would make for some “ooh-aah” best side-swipe of the day for the commentators to provide in depth analysis, and some more sponsorship airtime???
I agree but having watched
I agree but having watched the video, what are you on about?
He’s done nothing wrong, other than watching through his phone, he’s not on the road (that ends at the white line) he’s standing on the verge, he doesn’t move toward the race at all and takes pretty good evasive action when someone rides too close to him.
Springbok45 wrote:
You’ve made the mistake someone else made on here last week of assuming that road markings apply to the riders, they don’t and a few seconds of watching any professional race would show this. They are not allowed to ride on pavements except to take avoiding action but any part of the tarmac is fair game and no spectators should be standing on it. Furthermore the spectator in this incident, even by your erroneous standards, is in the wrong, he is leaning over the white line to the extent that riders inside it have to duck under his arm. I’ve got this far without using the phrase “shit take” but really, that’s exactly what blaming the riders for going to close to him and actually praising him for his evasive action is.
In general, the course of a
In general, the course of a road race is defined by the paved road available to road traffic.
https://assets.ctfassets.net/761l7gh5x5an/2qPklRk6XJyLMSKYF9Z2z4/e7b12550abe91c9ef73a961ed14b3276/2-ROA-20211101-E.pdf page 17.
Seems like the UCI disagree with you.
As for the rest of your statement, the guy is standing holding his phone directly above his head he’s not leaning anywhere you may want to review your opinion before spouting off at others.
Inside the white line is
Inside the white line is paved road available to road traffic, e.g. when parking or loading/unloading. The UCI completely agree with what I’ve stated. If you wish to prove differently please provide a single example of a rider being sanctioned for riding over the white line at the side of the road. As for your other ridiculous statement, if the guy wasn’t in a position to impede riders, why did he have to take the evasive action you so praised when none of them crossed the white line? Stop being silly.
Rendel Harris wrote:
He’s not being silly, he’s being “dwars”. The clue is in the profile name.
Thanks Rendel, saved me the
Thanks Rendel, saved me the trouble… guess I should also thank Springbok45 as they did answer my question, “(what a total idiot) but why do so many “fans” do it?”
Q.E.D.
Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells
? for brains as was mentioned on this site just the other day.
It’s a race, not traffic –
It’s a race, not traffic – road markings are irrelevant. He’s about 5ft further left than he has any business being and his left elbow is directly in the peleton’s path.
The spectator’s poor decision
The spectator’s poor decision making is made clear by the 3 quarter trousers that he is wearing. The authorities should not have allowed him near the road, let alone on it.
Reminds me of someone who
3/4 length trousers? Now that reminds me of someone who used to be a politician but I can’t quite recall the fella’s name…
Cosmo Bean wrote:
That there’s fightin‘ talk, Cosmo
My theory is they’ve only
My theory is they’ve only ever caught moments of the tour on tv, watching the fans on a climb for example where the riders are going at a slower pace and they think that’s how close you can get all the time not realising how fast they would be going. Plus the culture of having to have something to stick on socials instead of just enjoying the moment through one’s eyes.
There was a really close one
There was a really close one on the front in Saltburn, at the bottom of the climb, the other Sunday at the Nationals. I only heard the gasp, but when I looked around there was a little kid in the middle of the road. The riders carry some serious speed into that first switch back. Luckily the lead group was down to 4 or 5 so with some exceptional bike handling they managed to avoid him. Someone said that the kid and his Dad were crossing the road. The dad apparently sprinted out of danger and left his son. I presume they were there for the beach not the cycling but it’s difficult to imagine how much more warning there could have been. However, I can imagine the reaction if he’d been mowed down.
IanMK wrote:
What a great example of dadhood…