Cycling association threatens legal action against fan after scary incidents during Tour de France stage
The CPA, the association for professional cyclists, has threatened to take legal action against a fan after an incident involving one of its riders during the latest Tour de France stage.
The 14th day of the Tour de France, contested on Saturday, saw the riders race 151.9 kilometres south-east from Pau to Saint-Lary-Soulan.
The stage was won by Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar, a two-time winner of the Tour and the current holder of this year's yellow jersey as the general classification leader.
But there was a scary incident involving the 25-year-old in the closing stages of the race, when a fan walked onto the track and threw what appeared to be a bag of crisps towards his face.
Advert
While Pogacar brushed the bag aside and was able to continue with his race, the fact that his safety was compromised - alongside an object being thrown at his face - at high speed left cycling supporters furious.
You can see footage of the incident below.
WTF IS THIS?!
— Sanny Rudravajhala (@Sanny_Rudra) July 13, 2024
Some bloke just chucked a bag of crisps into Tadej Pogacar’s face at 2km to go.#tdf2024 #OnYerBikePod @writebikerepeat pic.twitter.com/ji8ppnp8ds
Fans quickly called on the Tour to take action, and while no statement has yet been made, its official Twitter account posted: "In a world where you can be anything, don't be this stupid guy."
A separate incident later on saw the same fan wave his hand close to the handlebars of second-placed rider Jonas Vingegaard, who eventually finished as runner-up behind Pogacar.
😡Esto es casi de cárcel! 🤬El mismo impresentable que le tiro papas en la cara a 🇸🇮Pogacar, también se las tiró a 🇩🇰Jonas Vingegaard un poco después. #TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/UL8ucNOTHO
— NotiCiclismo 🇫🇷 #TDF2024 (@Noticiclismo1) July 13, 2024
The Tour's response was preceded by a post from the president of the CPA, Adam Hansen, who has said that his association will take legal action against the fan 'with pleasure'.
Taking to Twitter, he stated: "The CPA will take legal action against this guy with pleasure due to what he did to both Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard.
"This is disrespectful and will not be tolerated."
SPORTbible has contacted CPA Cycling for comment. The Tour de France and ASO declined to comment.
Topics: Cycling, Tour De France
Ryan Smart