It was the calm after the storm following the Alpe D’Huez stage which saw Chris Froome accosted by a fan and Vincenzo Nibali forced to quit with a broken vertebra after a spectator outside of the barriers brought the Italian down.
The Nibali incident occurred where the course narrowed and thick red smoke from spectators’ flares reduced visibility and caused the Tour motorbikes to brake violently. Froome and others were also impeded.
Before yesterday’s stage race director Christian Prudhomme condemned the incident and asked for fans to respect the riders, but the Tour organisation also came under criticism.
“The police weren’t necessarily where they needed to be,” said cycling legend Chris Boardman on ITV. “At Dutch corner there just weren’t any police there.”
“Somebody with flares should just be jumped on immediately. Despite the fact that we had a little less fans than normal the policing was nowhere near proactive enough.
“It’s telling that Christian Prudhomme made the trip to hospital to actually see Vincenzo Nibali, they feel a sense of responsibility.”
Prior to the Tour and 24 hours before Froome was exonerated of any doping offence concerning his use of salbutamol at last year’s Vuelta, Prudhomme had tried to prevent the four-times champion competing in this year’s race.
That aggressive move was seen by some as provocative and inflammatory, and feelings have run high on the roadside ever since. Inside the final 20km yesterday a spectator appeared to throw a lit flare into the peloton, close to head height for the passing Sky riders, though all of them passed safely.
Today Geraint Thomas will defend his yellow jersey on a tough stage with a sharp uphill finish that possibly suits him more than Froome.
“It’s a tough day, a big day with a challenging final which I am sure we will race. I feel quite punchy at the moment so hopefully I will be alright,” said the Welshman.
Today’s stage. Saint Paul-Trois-Chateaux to Mende (188km).