A spectator taking a selfie sparked a crash on stage 15 of the Tour de France on Sunday. The incident occurred about 80 miles from the finish line.
"Someone taking a selfie on the side of the road," said commentator Dan Lloyd, who CNN quoted.
"It was one of the Jumbo riders who was clipped by them enough that he lost control … just somebody stepping too far out, trying to take a picture, clipping the riders who are hugging one side of the road to the other, and this is the consequence of that," Lloyd continued.
BBC News said the spectator made contact with American rider Sepp Kuss, causing him to take down his team-mate Nathan van Hooydonck and other riders.
Maxi crash at the Tour de France caused by a roadside person who was filming with his phone.
— Procyclinglover (@procyclinglover) July 16, 2023
Crash seen in slow motion. #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/qAbxycQSBf
Kuss told BBC:
"There was a narrowing in the town and a spectator in the road, and I guess he just clipped my handlebars.
"Luckily I'm OK and hopefully the other guys in the crash are all right. It's not ideal.
"I think it's fatigue. It's been such a hard race and everybody is a bit tired. You lose a bit of alertness and there's always things out of your control as well."
All riders who crashed were able to get back on their bikes and finish the 111-mile stage from Les Gets les Portes du Soleil to Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc.
Days ago, the official Twitter account of the Tour tweeted a video of what appears to be another spectator taking a selfie and nearly knocking out a rider.
🙏 Please pay attention to the riders.
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 13, 2023
🙏 S'il vous plait, faites attention aux coureurs.#TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/KfeEcUay69
Who could have imagined that taking selfies could pose such risks?
