Potential drama was averted in the finale of the Tour de France stage to Valence. One minute before the riders arrived, a spectator climbed over the barriers carrying his bike. He jumped on the bike and rode across the finish line in Valence. The on-site security and police intervened forcefully; with a body check, the man was detained and removed, just moments before Jonathan Milan won the sprint.
Photos released after the sprinters' stage to Valence by photo agency Cor Vos show the man, dressed in a Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale shirt and riding a black bike, attempting to cross the rain-soaked finish line. A Tour de France official tried to stop him there, but was unsuccessful.
Just past the line, a police officer from the GO CRS (a specialized unit within France’s Police Nationale) showed less mercy on the spectator. Witnesses report that the officer took the man down with a hard body check. Several others then helped remove him from the finish area, just moments before the riders arrived.
A disaster was thus prevented, as the Tour stage might have ended in a full bunch sprint. Due to a major crash, the sprint was ultimately contested by a small group, with Jonathan Milan winning the stage.
The reason behind the spectator’s actions is still unknown. It remains unclear whether he was a protester or activist attempting to disrupt the Tour. Earlier in this edition, a Pro-Palestinian activist had indeed run onto the course in the final kilometer.
View photos of the incident at the finish in Valence here:
photo: Cor Vos
photo: Cor Vos
photo: Cor Vos
photo: Cor Vos
photo: Cor Vos
Tour de France| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 03:25:30 | |
| 2 | " | |
| 3 | " | |
| 4 | " | |
| 5 | " | |
| 6 | " | |
| 7 | " | |
| 8 | " | |
| 9 | " | |
| 10 | " |
