Selfie-Taking Fan Causes Huge Crash at the Tour de France
A fan taking a selfie at the Tour de France caused a huge pileup of cyclists after getting in the way of one of the riders.
The incident happened roughly 32 miles (52 kilometers) into the 15th stage of the famous cycling race on Sunday when a spectator accidentally touched U.S. rider Sepp Kuss while taking a selfie.
Maxi crash at the Tour de France caused by a roadside person who was filming with his phone.
Crash seen in slow motion. #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/qAbxycQSBf
— Procyclinglover (@procyclinglover) July 16, 2023
Kuss’s fall sparks a chain reaction with at least a dozen riders hitting the ground and many more behind unable to progress because of the stricken cyclists making a roadblock. Fortunately, there were no major injuries.
“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 tells Cycling News.
“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.”
Tour de France spectator causes a huge crash in the peloton!#TDF2023 📺: Peacock pic.twitter.com/USu6eUO0o1
— NBC Sports Cycling (@NBCSCycling) July 16, 2023
Overall race leader Jonan Vigegaard warns spectators to take great care when attending the race.
“I’d like to tell the spectators to enjoy the race and be there to cheer for us without standing on the road or pouring beers on us,” Vingegaard tells reporters.
“Please be careful, so that the party remains a party for the racers but equally for you. You don’t need a phone to create mind-blowing memories,” Team Confidis adds.
The rider that crashed, Kuss, tells the BBC that tiredness had some part to play in the incident.
“There was a narrowing in the town and a spectator in the road, and I guess he just clipped my handlebars,” he says.
“I think it’s fatigue. It’s been such a hard race and everybody is a bit tired. You lose a bit of alertness and there’s always things out of your control as well.”
Première étape du Tour de France, premier crash, premier partisan à blâmer pic.twitter.com/6i3yhBtwv7
— Julien Lamoureux (@julienlamoureux) June 26, 2021
The incident was reminiscent of a fan who caused a similar pileup in 2021. The fan was posing for a camera while holding a cardboard sign which caused the entire peloton to crash.
