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Oblivious selfie-seeking fan causes spectacular crash at Tour de France

Rob Williams
Rob Williams
|
Jul 17 2023, 11:27 pm
Oblivious selfie-seeking fan causes spectacular crash at Tour de France
@TheWapplehouse/Twitter

An oblivious fan wanting a selfie caused chaos at the Tour de France on Sunday.

Several competitors crashed after American cyclist Sepp Kuss was clipped by a fan that was trying to take a photo as the bikers raced through the French Alps. The fan’s arm leaned too far into the road, making contact with Kuss’ handlebar.

 

“There was a spectator leaning into the road, I guess. It just happened suddenly and that’s part of the Tour, there are a lot of people,” Kuss said following stage 15 of the Tour, courtesy CyclingNews.com. “Ideally that wouldn’t happen, but it’s the biggest bike race in the world and a lot of people don’t know exactly what’s going on.

“There was a narrowing in a town. We were just trying to slow down the peloton to let the break go and then just on the side, unfortunately, somebody wanted to get a selfie. I didn’t really see it coming.”

Fan interference is nothing new at the Tour de France, with the famous cycling race tweeting out a warning to “please pay attention to the riders” three days before the latest incident.

Last week French cyclist Lilian Calmejane was tripped up by a fan holding up multiple jerseys between two poles on a rope.

Calmejane was also one of the riders that fell victim to fans throwing tacks on the ground earlier in the competition.

“Thank you for this kind of human bullsh*t,” Calmejane said in a video posted to Twitter on July 2, where he showed off five tacks punctured in his front tire.

“You can fall and get really hurt with your bullsh*t you morons.”

Sunday’s crash was reminiscent of a 2021 pileup that occurred after a fan jumped in front of cyclists with a sign, apparently looking to get some camera time before the bikers raced by. French police later got involved.

Police have identified the fan that caused Sunday’s crash, but reportedly won’t arrest them unless Kuss decides to press charges. The American cyclist is currently in sixth place at the Tour de France and is also a teammate of Jonas Vingegaard, who currently leads the race.

The 2023 Tour de France began in Bilbao, Spain, on July 1 and will conclude in Paris on July 23, after travelling through Bordeau, the French Alps, and numerous other locations in France. This is the 110th edition of the Tour de France, which first took place in 1903.

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