June 26, (THEWILL) – There was an unfortunate occurrence at the first stage of this year’s Tour de France on Saturday when an overzealous fan caused a huge crash.
The fan, who was on the side of the road, happened to contrive to hit Tony Hans-Joachim Martin, a German cyclist, with a placard causing a huge pile-up.
The multiple collisions brought down most of the rest of the peloton, including Wout van Aert, Primoz Roglic (both Jumbo–Visma), Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Victorious) and Marc Soler (Movistar) coming down hard on the asphalt with many of them badly injured.
The result was pretty sickening.
After Martin hit the deck hard, he was soon covered by bodies. Riders were left sprawling across the road and in the ditch. It was a very terrible sight and chaotic for the first day of the Tour de France.
Some of the riders who escaped the crash like Deceuninck from QuickStep and Ineos, for instance, took their foot off the gas and sat up to account for the crash, but Jasha Sutterlin from Team DSM, would have to abandon the tour altogether.
Immediate medical attention was the first recourse and it will take some time to attend to the injured from the pile up while the course is cleared of the bodies and debris from all the multiple collisions.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
