Ricky Price
After a crash in stage 12, the yellow jersey stays on Chris Froome in Tour de France 2016 as officials determine that the unusual circumstance warranted a time adjustment for Froome.
Crash Stage 12 – Chris Froome in Tour de France 2016
It all happened just about one kilometer away from the finish line, on stage 12 on the climb up Mont Ventoux. The high winds had made the Tour de France officials move the finish line six kilometers down for this stage. The winds also prevented the organization to setup the usual barriers for spectators. All these added up for the resulting crash.
Spectators were too many, and they were literally in the course of the race. A TV motorcycle, catching the final moments before the finish line had to stop as spectators got in the way. Apparently the motorcycle hit a spectator, forcing them to stop, just as Richie Porte attacked Froome for the final stretch.
Take a look… are you serious?
Photos: Getty images
The Crash – A Real Odyssey
The following video shows the actual crash.
Ah of course a motor again #TDF2016pic.twitter.com/HA2SBI7YBO
— ProCyclingStats.com (@ProCyclingStats) July 14, 2016
And well the chaos afterwards was even worse than the crash itself.
Porte smashed face-first into the back of the motorcycle. Bauke Mollema, who was also with Porte and Froome, cartwheeled into the air. Froome hit the ground with Mollema ending up on top of him. Adding up, a large police motorcycle then ran over Froome’s bicycle breaking it.
Chris Froome in Tour de France – Have some running shoes?
With nothing to get on, Froome started running up the hill waiting on his team to give him another bike. Well they were nowhere in sight.
A group of neutral service mechanics appeared and gave Froome one of the generic bicycles they carry. The bike was too small and the shoes would not fit on the pedals.
One of Froome’s team cars finally arrived, and he changed bikes again. By the time he crossed the finish line, he had lost the yellow jersey to Adam Yates.
The Ruling
Of course appeals and people running everywhere to get the UIC position on the matter, as expeted, came right there.
Cycling’s rule book has a section that prevents riders from getting a time penalty if they crash or have a mechanical problem within the final three kilometers of a stage, as long as they eventually make it across the finish line. But that would not apply to mountain stages like Mount Ventoux.
The International Cycling Union, the sport’s governing body,agreed that the unusual circumstance warranted a time adjustment for Froome.
Yates, who would have gotten the yellow jersey if the appeal had not gone through ahd this to say: “You don’t want to take the yellow jersey like that; you want to take it with your legs,” he said. “He’s the rightful holder of the yellow jersey.”
In the end, the stage was won by Thomas De Gendt, followed by Serge Pauwels, None of them is a contender for the overall title.
