Tour De France Halted As Officials Drag Protestors Off The Road

Climate change protestors halted the 10th stage of the Tour De France with 35km left to go.

The demonstrators were eventually dragged off the track as officials paused the race to deal with them.

As for the cyclists themselves, they were forced to dodge out of the way, Alberto Bettiol - who was leading at the time - was captured on camera desperately swerving across the track to avoid a collision.

Climate activist group Dernier Renovation took responsibility for the protest, which saw demonstrators chaining themselves together by their necks and setting off red flares.

The group had to be physically carried off by officials in order for the race to resume.

Bettiol had a 32-second lead when the race was brought to a halt, however, riders were assured the same gaps would be maintained once the race started again.

The activists made a statement via their official Twitter account, saying: “The world to which politicians are sending us is a world in which the Tour de France will no longer be able to exist.

“As the government does not care when we talk about the climate crisis, we must come and take over the Tour de France to refocus attention on what matters for our survival. We must make our government react, which is leading us to the slaughterhouse. 

“We would have preferred to do otherwise, but that's all we have left. The good news is that everything can still change.”

The group were seen wearing shirts that read ‘We have 989 days left’ in reference to the United Nations Climate report that says time is running out to slow climate change. 

There was a mass feeling of anger among cyclists and organisers, with Sir Bradley Wiggins telling Eurosport viewers: “It really was going off. It was quite crazy. A lot of people getting quite angry, some of the directeur sportifs got out the cars, stuck a boot in.”

Tour de France general director commented on the situation and said he believed the protests happened at the race due to the prestige of the event.

He told the television show Velo Club: “It was unexpected. We know that on the route of the Tour de France, which carries great reasonance, it happens occasionally.

“We were there for a few minutes, then happily the stage carried on as normal. The race situation was very clear with the breakaway a long way ahead.”

According to Reuters, he had earlier commented on the incident, saying: “These things happen, it’s the price of success.”

Climate protests at major sporting events have been commonplace over the past few months. 

The Derniere Renovation group claimed responsibility for a demonstration at the French Open, with a protestor jumping on the court and tying themselves to the net. 

Whilst a group from Just Stop Oil climbed onto the raceway at the British Grand Prix and forced F1 drivers to desperately swerve out of the way to avoid hitting them.