Photo: Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty
Tour de France riders were faced with an unexpected — and painful — obstacle on Tuesday when they were hit with pepper spray, which caused the iconic race to come to a halt.
The incident caused a 15-minute delay to the iconic race, and photographs show riders wiping away tears, rubbing their noses and placing drops into their eyes.
“With the headwind, the gas came back to the peloton,” French rider Pierre Latour told the AP. “Lots of us had to stop to drink and douse water over our eyes.”
Marco Bertorello/AFP/Getty
“I just sprayed some water, water in the eyes, water on the face,” Froome told the AP. “Just felt throat and nose were burning, eyes were burning afterwards. But I think quite a lot of riders were in a similar situation. I think we’re all grateful for temporary neutralization and to clear, to have a couple of (miles) to clear our eyes, nose out, then the racing continued again.”
Fortunately, it seemed many of the racers were able to recover after a short time as well.
“I was lucky that it did not affect me too much,” Thomassaid. “I had a bit of tingling in the back of the throat but I used some water to wash it out.”
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme criticized the protestors following the disruption.
“The road should remain free, we are not going to lock the riders in a stadium or on a tennis court,” he told the AP. “The riders’ job is extremely dangerous, they are taking risks every day, people should not block the road, no matter what causes they are fighting for.”
Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty
This isn’t the only protest to occur during the storied race this year. Many fans have spoken out against Froome’s participation in the race, as he recently faced a suspension after he was caught using twice the allowed level of salbutamol, an asthma medication that opens up the airways of the lungs.
source: people.com
