tour reporter
Thumbtacks were scattered on the track on the second and third stages of the Tour de France. This is extremely dangerous for the drivers. But such incidents cannot be prevented entirely.
“Human Nonsense” performed by “idiots”. The French professional cyclist Lilian Calmejan has a pretty clear opinion of people who tacks on the line of Tour de France distribute. Calmejan posted a picture of his tire with thumbtacks stuck in it on Twitter.
After the second stage, several drivers reported an unusual accumulation of tire damage and on the third stage, too, the sharp thumbtacks were on the road, again there were defects. It is not possible to say exactly how many drivers were affected.
Free spectacle on public roads
However, the incidents show that the Tour de France remains a vulnerable event. “We just do an outdoor sport on public roads, which are then closed to us. And so you can’t control everything.”says Rolf Aldag, sporting director of the German World Tour team Bora-hansgrohe.
3,405.6 kilometers is the route of the Tour de France this year long, the race is free, a free spectacle – less the visit to a sporting event. Because along the route you only catch a glimpse of the athletes for a few seconds or minutes at best. You can’t follow the course of the race, it’s only revealed in the TV broadcast. It is said that many people come to the route mainly because of the advertising caravan – a kind of carnival procession by the tour sponsors.
Tour audience always in focus
So not every spectator at the Tour comes for the cycling and some may think it’s a joke when they hand out thumbtacks on the street. The fact that the safety of the driver is endangered seems to be either accepted or not considered. “They might think there’s a flat tire like on an everyday bike”suspects Bora-hansgrohe team boss Ralph Denk. “But these are high-tech tires and wheels. And if they suddenly lose air, it can lead to serious falls.”
The behavior of the audience at the edge of the track is always the focus of safety debates in cycling. Selfies with your back to the field of riders, Bengalos with a lot of smoke developing or enthusiastically running next to a rider in a confined space on a climb – all of this can put the professional cyclists in danger. For years, the tour organizer ASO has been running campaigns calling on the fans at the side of the track to show more respect for the drivers.
Thumbtacks, hay bales and climate activists
But despite all the calls, there are always incidents caused by viewers. In the Tour de France In 2021, a spectator on stage one caused a mass fall when she held up a homemade sign saluting her grandparents to the camera – with her back to the oncoming field.
And there have also been tacks on the road in the long history of the Tour. Around 2012, when, among others, the Australian Cadel Evans – then the defending champion – was affected. “We have hundreds of thousands of viewers and one or two people who are completely misbehaving”says the route chief of the Tour de France, Thierry Gouvenou. “But unfortunately, it’s extremely difficult to identify her in the crowd of audience.”
Throughout its long history, the Tour de France stage has also been used time and again to draw attention to political or social problems. Last year, climate activists of the “last generation” blocked the tour route on two stages. There were also protesting farmers who put bales of hay in the way of the peloton.
Riots in France – danger for the tour?
France is currently a country in turmoil. The riots triggered by the death of the 17-year-old Nahel through a shot at a police checkpoint, have recently ebbed away somewhat. But the concern remains that in this case too, the Tour de France stage could be used for protests or even riots. Tour director Christian Prudhomme assures that one is in constant contact with the Ministry of the Interior and is monitoring the situation very closely.
The French Ministry of the Interior is making 28,000 police officers and firefighters available during the three-week tour. 300 officers are present throughout the tour. But even this enormous array of security forces will not be able to completely prevent incidents.
The riots hardly caused any excitement in the peloton. Adam Yates, currently in the overall leader’s yellow jersey, explains that he’s just sitting in the saddle of his bike and that he’s not busy with other things. The French are completely different Guillaume Martinwho studied philosophy and therefore also looks beyond the handlebars. “I am a professional cyclist, but I am also a citizen. We are in a problematic situation”says Martin and laments one “division of society” in his homeland.
Being close to the fans is part of the business model
Regardless of whether tensions in France reach the national shrine of the Tour de France or not, the dilemma between closeness to the crowd and safety in front of the crowd remains an ongoing issue for cycling. Because part of the fascination that cycling exerts on the public is the direct access to the players who, after the end of the corona pandemic, make their way through crowds of people in the finish area of the stages to the team buses.
The actors themselves absolutely want to maintain this closeness. Not just for romance, but because it’s part of the business model. “That’s a great value that we can throw into the marketing of the sport.”says Ralph Denk, the team manager at Bora-hansgrohe. “And if you isolate yourself too much, then he is no longer tangible and is as far away as is the case in football, for example.”