There have been surprising numbers of morons invading sports fields or courts this year, but the biggest thing that’s usually led to is a brief delay. In the first stage of the Tour de France Saturday, though, a fan who wound up on the course created much more havoc and affected the outcome, causing a giant peleton crash. The fan was standing on the road, holding a sign, and looking at the lead TV camera rather than the approaching riders; rider Tony Martin then hit the sign and crashed into other riders, causing much of the peleton to go down. Here’s video of how this looked on NBCSN, via Timothy Burke:
GREAT TO SEE SPECTATORS BACK INVOLVED IN SPORTS EH pic.twitter.com/Kwxj8be2Qh
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) June 26, 2021
look at this absolute nightmare that resulted pic.twitter.com/3Nf2QFMqHu
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) June 26, 2021
Here’s one bike that was destroyed in the crash:
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) June 26, 2021
And here’s a just-before-it-happened screengrab:
#TDF2021 – Live pics of the idiot causing the crash. Wasn't even looking at the race. #LFRLive pic.twitter.com/PNziTvKiz9
— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) June 26, 2021
And a screengrab of the aftermath:
Scariest thing about that crash was that by the time Tony Martin stopped sliding along the road, the spectator who got the in the way was comfortably out of the helicopter shot. #TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/JIudtdwnRS
— Nick Bull (@nickbull21) June 26, 2021
This has also led to some teams calling for spectators to stay out of the way:
?? #TDF2021
Our beautiful sport is completely unique and extra special in how accessible we are to the fans.
If we could please remind all spectators along the roads to stand back, at a safe distance, as the race passes by.
— Team Qhubeka NextHash (@QhubekaAssos) June 26, 2021
Martin, the initial rider caught in the crash, was able to continue on after getting a new bike, but some riders wound up abandoning the stage. It was a huge disruption to the race, and hopefully one we won’t see reoccur.
[The Guardian, Timothy Burke and Nick Bull on Twitter]