Tour de France invader smashed off bike in prank gone wrong
A bike rider who invaded the actual Tour de France route while the race was going on met a bitter end at the hands of a security guard.
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Police and security were forced to tackle a ‘prankster’ who invaded the track at the Tour de France, just moments before the stage’s conclusion.
The Sun reports the end of stage 17 almost ended in calamity when a spectator leapt over the boardings with his bike and tried to ride across the finish line.
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The unknown individual was dressed in full gear so as to look like a team rider, but was immediately spotted by onlookers.
The man was wearing a Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale jersey.
Images released of the incident show that the man managed to cross the finish line before he was tackled by a police offer and fell off his bike and to the ground.
He was then quickly removed from the track in order to clear a pathway for the fast-approaching leaders who were due to follow soon after.
It’s not the first time that there have been issues on the track at this year’s Tour either.
Security had to leap in front of a pro-Palestine protester who had made their way onto the track during stage 11 of the race.
The track-invader sprinted down the racecourse with his hands in the air just 25 metres from the finish line of the stage last Wednesday, with riders cycling past as it happened.
The protester was wearing a t-shirt that read: “Israel out of the Tour.”
He also held a keffiyeh, a black-and-white checkered headdress and pro-Palestine symbol.
The individual was tackled, thrust against the boardings and hauled off the road by security.
Other fan incidents at this year’s Tour de France have included an Ineos team car hitting into a spectator that stepped onto the road during the 14th stage of the race.
Fortunately Thursday’s incident didn’t cause any crashes.
However, pouring rain in the final 30km of the 60.4km stage from Bollene to Valence did cause a crash of its own.
With just 1km left to go a mass crash took out Tim Merlier and Biniam Girmay, opening the door for Jonathan Milan to claim his second stage victory of this year’s Tour.
Speaking after the win, Milan said: “This is a really fantastic team victory and I have to thank them from the bottom of my heart.
“I survived with the help of my teammates. Without this, I would not be here. They delivered me in the best position (for the finish).”
Aussie wins mountain stage from Pogacar
On Friday morning (AEST) Australia’s Ben O’Connor won stage 18 of the Tour de France with a world class climb in the mountains.
O’Connor, 29, took off alone 15km from the finish and navigated the mountain mist to win 1min 45sec ahead of Pogacar atop the Col de la Loze.
The stage victory was an emotional one for the Aussie, who coming into the race had aspirations of fighting for the general classification.
However, those goals were quickly dashed after a stage 1 crash which he said left him “pretty banged up”.
“It’s a pretty cruel race,” O’Connor said to reporters.
This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission.
Originally published as Tour de France invader smashed off bike in prank gone wrong
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