A careless spectator triggered a mass crash at the Tour de France, bringing down defending champion Jonas Vingegaard’s key helper. About 128 kilometers from the finish of stage 15, a fan stood too far on the road and stuck out his arm, which appeared to be holding a smartphone. The American Sepp Kuss, who was at the front of the field, touched his arm, fell and swept around 20 drivers with him. In the mountains, Kiss is Vingegaard’s main helper.
“This is the driver’s office. Don’t go to their office,” said Eurosport expert Jens Voigt, who accompanied the stage to Saint-Gervais on Mont Blanc on the motorcycle. “Don’t try to be part of the spectacle. The drivers are the spectacle, they are the show. Leave the road to the drivers,” appealed the ex-professional. John Degenkolb was also involved in the crash, which immediately forced no driver to retire.
Several teams reacted immediately after the fall and demanded more attention from the fans along the route. “An accident involving Sepp and Nathan. Nathan looks like he’s a little injured, hopefully he can continue the race. Please always be careful when following the race from the side of the road,” tweeted the Jumbo-Visma team, of which Kuss is next Nathan van Hooydonck was also affected by the fall. “A big crash in the peloton that also involved Egan Bernal. Thank goodness he’s back on his feet quickly and making his way back to the field. If you want to follow this breathtaking race please give the riders enough room to ride” , demanded the Ineos-Grenadiers team, which includes former Tour winner Bernal.
It’s not the first time on this year’s tour that fans have played a central role in crashes. On the eighth stage of the tour, Steff Cras fell a few kilometers before the finish line by a careless fan. The driver from the TotalEnergies team was injured so badly that he had to retire from the race. Cras then vented his frustration on Twitter. “You have no respect for the riders! I hope you feel real guilty. Because of you I have to leave the tour,” wrote Cras.
In the days that followed, there were always dangerous situations and falls caused by fans on the side of the road. A few days ago, the tour organizers felt compelled to draw attention to the problem on Twitter. “Please watch out for the drivers,” the organizers wrote for a short video showing sprint star Jasper Philipsen evading a fan with his back to the race at the last second.
