I consider myself new to cycling. I'm watching as much of the Tour as possible and am really enjoying it. All of it except for one thing...
The fans that get too close to the riders - or touch them - are making me crazy!
Someone tell me...is my frustration with this due to some unrefined position or are these people the selfish shoe goo I think they are? I can appreciate the enthusiasm but have some respect for the riders over your own desire to be excited or get on TV. Today Barguil pushed some of these guys away at the end of the stage!
I think your frustration is shared. Yes fans are great. They help make big events like the tour so special. But some cross the line when they get as close as they do. Funny when you see a moto pull up and shove the people back 🙂
Well the fans, especially on the mountain climbs have been part of the sport for a long time. Alberto Contador's punch of fan ridiculing him for drug use sticks on my mind, imagine trying to race up a mountain and punching someone while riding, and not losing your balance? The fans that get too close they accidentally cause an accident needs to stop, as in the purse strap Armstrong's handlebar caught causing him to fall, sportsmanship saw Ullrich wait. I can't imagine climbing the way they do up mountain passes only to have to breath the smoke from smoke bombs, those things should be illegal and the people that set them off fined big time.
The trouble I saw when I was there wasn't so much the fans being close as being drunk like a fraternity party. A team mechanic told me that after their favorites would pass the a_____es would break beer or wine or whiskey bottles on the road to give chasers flat tires. So while being too close is really bothersome, being too close and so drunk that they might pass out in front of you is a lot worse. And I didn't see any French police doing anything.
