A roadside fan stepped into the path of the peloton at the Tour de France during Sunday’s stage 15, clipping a rider who fell sideways causing a domino effect behind him.
Around half of the riders still on the Tour were taken out or delayed but the fall came after leaders Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar had already passed.
Vingegaard would go on to stay in the Tour de France after crossing the finish line in the second of four alpine tests, with Dutch climber Wout Poels taking out the 15th stage.
The incident occurred when a fan eager for a selfie stuck his arm out too far into the road and caught Jumbo-Visma rider Sepp Kuss.
Kuss then began to lose his balance before crashing into other riders in the peloton, causing a monster pile-up of riders behind him.
Speaking on Eurosport’s broadcast, commentator Dan Lloyd claimed the incident was similar to the infamous crash in 2021 when a fan holding a cardboard sign caused an almighty crash.
“Someone taking a selfie on the side of the road,” Lloyd said.
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“It was one of the Jumbo riders who was clipped by them, enough that he lost control.
“It was not dissimilar to the Tony Martin crash a few years ago — just somebody stepping too far out, trying to take a picture and clipping a rider, who is hugging one side of the road, and this is the consequence of that.”
Co-commentator Carlton Kirby added: “An arm came out and clipped a shoulder, and down we all came like skittles.”
The incident comes a day after a huge fall on a rain-slickened corner on Saturday held the race up for 25 mins when around 50 riders hit the floor.
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