25-Rider Pile Up Unleashes Havoc, Force-Stops Tour de France

Today an unfortunate incident happened at the cycling competition Tour de France resulting in a halt of the race. More than a dozen riders in the peloton crashed after approaching a slippery curve during the race. Tour de France is known for its tough test of the mental and physical strength of cyclists.

It is one of the oldest and most prestigious cycle races and cyclist gruels in it to achieve success. This is not the first time that such a crash happened but every incident is always regrettable. The crash resulted in havoc and confusion for a few minutes and the stage of the race was neutralized.

Riders pile up in the crash at Tour de France

Tour de France was in its 14th stage in which cyclist has to cover a 152 km trek that involves five climbs in the Alps. The incident happened when 146 km left of the stage ahead of the five categorized climbs at a slippery descent in Annemasse. The crash resulted in 25 riders piling up at the scene scattering on the road and grass. Some of the riders hit the tarmac in order to avoid the fallen cyclist.

The medical team arrived immediately and the cyclists got treatment on the spot. Those who could continue pursued the race after the aid but there were a few who were forced to retire due to severe injury. Among them was Antonio Pedrero the rider on team Movistar who was carried away on the stretcher.

Another rider Louis Meintjes of the team Intermarche-Circus-Wanty who was in 13th position was forced to retire due to a collarbone fracture. His teammate Adrien Petit continued after bandaging his leg. Later on, two more cyclists abandoned the race due to an accident after the first climb. Neither of the title contenders was injured in the race. Currently, Jonas Vingegaard the defending champion is in the lead with nine seconds difference from his competitor  Tadej Pogacar. This crash brought back memories of similar incidents and others that have occurred in the past in this race.

Tour de France Crashes Over the Years

Tour de France being one of the oldest races has its tragedy and triumphs. The latter had many champions who ruled the race for many years. But, there are some notable crashes in its history that people remember even today. Fabio Casartelli, a young Italian cyclist, comes to mind as the first one. In 1992, during stage 15, he reached a sharp turn, slipped, and hit a concrete block. He got a severe injury and couldn’t survive. There were spectators who caused a pile in 2021 when a spectator was posing from behind the board resulting in cyclist distraction and collision with the nearest cyclist sparking a huge pile-up.

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In 2011, Johnny Hoogerland fell on a barbed wire when he collided with a cyclist who was hit by a media car. Johnny received many lacerations and required 33 stitches to close the wounds. In 2015, a cyclist falling down led to a massive peloton crash, causing the trailing cyclists to pile up and sustain injuries.

Tour de France is a prestigious event and accidents happen in sports. It is good news that many cyclists are safe and leaders are on their mission.

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