At the Tour de France, strangers apparently put thumbtacks on the road. This happened before the final climb of the second stage on Sunday. Numerous professional cyclists had to change their wheels about 20 kilometers from the finish line due to punctures. As the portal “cyclingnews.com” reported, the organizer Aso was aware of the incident, but had no further information.
French professional cyclist Lilian Calmejane posted a video on Twitter showing five thumbtacks in his front tire. “Thank you for this human stupidity,” he wrote. He doesn’t think he was the only victim. “You should know that you can fall and really get hurt by your stupidity, you idiots,” he added.
Tom Pidcock also complained about a loss of tire pressure. “I had a creeping flat tire and could feel it on the descent from Jaizkibel, but I had to break it in. I could feel it slipping a little in the corners,” Pidcock told “Cyclingnews” and the TV station ITV.
In addition, Groupama sporting director Philippe Mauduit also reported that some of his drivers suffered tire damage from the nails. Two drivers from the Lotto team were also affected.
There had already been a comparable incident on the 2012 tour. At that time, dozens of professional cyclists and some accompanying motorcycles complained about tire damage due to nails on the road on the 14th stage.
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