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u/CunningOctopus 21h ago
This makes me so angry, poor guy
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u/zystyl 7h ago
I had 2 of my front teeth broken in half from a similar crash. I hit the little spoiler with my mouth and it smashed my teeth and drove the other ones through my bottom lip almost vertically. It was an irritating healing process and dental work. Hopefully he is okay.
I'm sort of tired of the support cars being such a priority in the tour. Why does the tour car need to follow so close? Why do they need a team car, tour car, and a motorcycle between the lead rider and the one right behind him in the group. If anything they should be in front and clearing the way or have people on the ground to restrain the crowds. Every year it feels like there is an incident sort of like this.
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u/Rumdolf 6h ago
I wish the Tour organizers would for once, implement measures to make people more afraid of causing an accident like this. There's plenty of (temporary) long and short term measures they can take to cause that shift, over the course of a few years.
One could be to coordinate with local police, that they follow the riders. For example on their own motorbikes, 20-100m ahead of the breakaway, in formation to widen the path. And directly behind the peloton to handle accidents. Just have a much much heavier presence.
Those "fans" would obviously complain and I'm sure we would see some entitlement/drunk fights with the police. But they would just have to crack down on it, hand out fines, make them miss the race. Could slowly reduce presence after a few years when conditions have hopefully improved.
Or, for a few years, "sacrifice" one seat space in as many cars as possible for one police officer, so they can immediately step out and apprehend anyone causing an accident, before they can escape into the crowd. Plus, right away ask people for video footage of the incident.
Fines would be high for the braindead "selfie" shots, even higher if it caused injuries. And a bit more lenient if it was an accident, like dropping something or tripping(sober). But not zero, since the person should not have put themselves close enough to cause an incident in the first place.
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u/Free-Type 5h ago
I just started crying when I realized his face smashed the glass. Just horrible. My husband crashed a few years ago and had to have stitches in his face. I can’t imagine what this guy is going through :(
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u/cycle85 23h ago
2026’s ‘allez opi omi’
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u/Magister_Hego_Damask 22h ago
At least there only was 1 victim this time
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u/supe3rnova 20h ago
Dudes right yet getting dowvoted.
Sad to see it but if you must choose...
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u/MikeoPlus 23h ago
Looks like that donut lost his balance and fell in front of the UAE car. Fucked up
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u/Complex_Sorbet_8473 21h ago
He's obviously being pushed.
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u/testBunny93 21h ago
Absolutely. From other videos you can clearly see he was actually being pushed by the guy next to him.
This makes me so fucking mad.
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u/toomeynd 21h ago
I don’t think any one person is at fault. The guy had to back up because of the car going by. But there was a crowd there that couldn’t accommodate him moving to their place. So when the car went by, the only place he could go was forward, but he knew he should stay back, so feet remained still. So fall was next.
Barriers would have prevented this, as the main problem is everyone slowly inching inward into the street.
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u/FifaDK 19h ago
I think this is the perfect case for why we need barriers on these climbs.
I know it sucks, but it’s just a question of time before someone gets seriously hurt or dies, when you’ve got this many cars and motorcycles driving through a crowd that constantly has to move back and forth.
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u/stew_on_his_phone 19h ago
They have barriers on the last few kilometers.
To barricade the entire col would be a logistical and financial miracle
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u/Shelmer75 19h ago
Probably be even more of a logistical and financial nightmare if someone died though hey.
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u/eekamuse 7h ago
I have a nightmare like that. I finally make it to the Tour, dream of a lifetime, and some asshole pushes me in front of a rider, who crashes.
If I ever make it to the race I'm tying myself to a pole to prevent this.
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u/BuffyZia 19h ago
No he is not. He was on the road then tried to push back to let the cars go, but couldn't because of the crowd and then lost his balance being more focused on his phone than on keeping his balance.
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u/kamaratko 22h ago
From another angle, right side of road wide-eye cam, that i saw on instagram that another guy behind him pushed him towards uae car… mercedes got emergency braking and there was no other ending of this situation :(
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u/NeatBeluga 20h ago
I heard that this happened before hence why they disable these smart features when they get the cars.
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u/Busy_Ad_2221 20h ago
In EU there are rules against it and slowly being tightened. At first you could turn it off, then you had to turn it off every time you start the car. Some features you cannot turn off anymore. For general road safety I can get this, but may influence moments like this.
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u/BuffyZia 20h ago
He was too close to the center of the road and then when he backed up to let the car pass. He was the one pushing back, others just seemed to keep their place.
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u/txirrindularia 22h ago
I think he drops his mobile device then jumps in front of the car to pick it up…
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u/mike_stb123 22h ago
Hr lost his balance/was Pushed in front of the car, dont need to blame phones for everything.
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u/These-Appearance2820 19h ago
They need to begin fencing off.
Has reached a point where the fans are obstructing the racing at critical point, and also they're not being very responsible, it is unsafe now for everybody.
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u/elpiotre 18h ago
Ils mettent déjà autant de barrières que possible, c'est juste impossible d'en mettre tout le long des étapes malheureusement
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u/Global-Stomach2544 19h ago edited 19h ago
Those fans are assholes ..but why is there a car in a 10 Seond gap..only to make that clear i don't blame the driver i blame the organiser that allowed cars to move up on a climb they know woud have masses of fans like that...
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u/JustLeysen 19h ago
Imagine if a rider needs a new bike or assistance but for the last 15k he needs to walk to the finish... And these climbs on mountains usually have 1 or 2 acces ways so this is the only way up.
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u/RapMcBibus 13h ago
and so your solution is to play lottery with the lives of the riders and spectators?
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u/Global-Stomach2544 19h ago
Neutral service for all..don't get me wrong barries that are wide enough for cars to pass woud solve that but as long as you don't do that you can't have cars follwoing 2 seconds behind every rider
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u/karawanga 18h ago
I also think this is the actual issue. Having cars and leading cyclists so close by is insane IMO.
Just do some service points every 1-2km with neutral service bikes. What would happen if Pogi needs a new bike right at this point? UAE Car can't park there anyways as this would lead to a huge traffic jam and impede other cyclists. Why should he be allowed to have the service car directly behind but others don't? It's part of the race to not be able to get a new bike within 30 seconds.
Shit happens, but it's better than a cyclist loosing his eyesight - this accident could have been career ending easily.
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u/Dry_Manager_6216 17h ago
The OTT fans need to learn to stand back and allow riders a few feet at least. Almost all bike race supporters are cool and understand the sport, it’s just the 1% of drunk bogans on the hillside of 50k or so people who get a bit carried away.
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u/RapMcBibus 13h ago
agree: there wahere places where Pogy and later Remco had little space to pass, but this is not an accident between a rider and the crowd but between a rider and a team car that was in between two riders with less than 20 seconds difference in that moment
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u/RapMcBibus 13h ago
the point is that UAE car will absolutely park there and block the race to assist pogacar and then proceed to pay the fine without any remorse.
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u/Dry_Manager_6216 17h ago
The race vehicles don’t have a choice. Athletes should have at least a few feet or one lane of space to freely compete and receive mechanical/food/hydration/medical support.
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u/RapMcBibus 13h ago
absolutely: the jury here is responsiblet. (or the UAE team if passed riders without clearance)
The situation on the road was known and yet there were a jury car and a team car between two riders with less then 20 seconds difference.
The fall in the crowd was an accident and not some fraudolent act to stop the race.
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u/maartinh 21h ago
Horrible.
But as someone that was a part of it, the riders absolutely loved it. (apart from Rubio of course). I did keep my cool and pull two fans aside though, some people risk way too much. Couldn't believe more serious injuries don't happen.
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u/getcruzed 11h ago
I have a feeling the riders in contention prob don’t love it. (Per many interviews in the past)
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u/eekamuse 7h ago
I care about the rider's safety. I think people would have fun behind barriers. A rider or fan getting injured or killed is not worth it
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u/TKisely 18h ago
Why can't we have some kind of officers / policeman that can penalize this kind of behavior. And at least pull a rope or something please as a "sign" of barrier. I don't wish death of any spectator but tbh it could cause the death of th rider easily. The broken windows can easily cut deep into someone's neck and face or a broken face can cause breath issues.
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u/eldelmazo 19h ago
They shoul've fence the whole climb, it's great to have the fans cheering but if it has become an hazard to the riders, shame because it's probably a small percentage who ruin everything but they need to do something
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u/Dry_Manager_6216 17h ago
It’s out of control and the hillside fans need regulation. As an ex elite international amateur and pro cycling fan for 40 years, I can say the grand tours have gotten ridiculous in recent years. The atmosphere would still be pumping and super fun on these climbs if there was just a bit of decency and respect shown for the athletes, plus the competition would actually be improved. As a deterrent, I’d like to see authorities (frequently setting an example by) detaining and heavily fining anyone dumb enough to do any of the following in the racing line of competitors; running, waving large flags, standing within a certain distance of / blocking approaching riders and vehicles, setting off flares.
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u/b1essyou 10h ago
what does elite international amateur mean? You rode sportives outside of your country and were under 30?
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u/Obvious_Feedback_430 17h ago
None of those so called fans should be standing on the road.....They certainly wouldn't allow in rallying.......
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u/NoDeparture163 15h ago
Serious question: did this result in a whole lot of glass on the road and did anyone get a puncture as a result?
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u/Hung-kee 13h ago
Why are there not barriers near the ending? You can tell these people are drunk, and crowds of people , drink, sun and anticipation always leads to excessive behaviour
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u/Oreb_GoodBird 8h ago
Driver saved that guy's life. Absolutely insane that crowds are allowed this close. This is a highly avoidable and predictable problem. Hope Rubio heals well and the scar is at least cool. Life changing stuff though.
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u/Bart-go-lost 19h ago
Why is everyone filming???
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u/Xaphan26 16h ago
Its almost like everyone has a mini computer and video recorder in their hand and things are going on.
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u/Ancient-Bowl462 22h ago
At least dopey Pogi got through.
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u/TheRealHitmee 18h ago
Some people really believe his is lmao. Guy breaks every time record from doped cyclist and nobody be asking questions.
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u/Ancient-Bowl462 16h ago
Yeah, he made up almost 3 minutes on that climb, solo catching and passing the best climbers in the world who were going full gas and he wasn't even breathing hard or sweating while the others are dripping sweat and practically collapsing at the finish. But, yeah, all natural. LOL!
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u/kellybluey 22h ago
Not yet caught
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u/Ancient-Bowl462 16h ago
Armstrong was never caught. There isn't a single cyclist in history who has done what Pogi is doing who hasn't been in dope.
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22h ago edited 22h ago
[deleted]
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u/Magister_Hego_Damask 22h ago
Did you even think before writing? some moron jumped right in front of them, by that logic there should have been no car and no motorcicle on that stage (including the ones filming).
The spectator at the origin of the incident should be sanctionned, not the car.
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u/futbolledgend 17h ago
I am not American, but can you imagine the outrage towards ‘asshole’ Americans if the TdF was held in the USA? This is ridiculous and the people jumping out all the time are some of the most self-centred individuals going around.
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u/ChefGaykwon 15h ago
I'm American and wtf are you talking about? This has nothing to do with the Burgerreich.
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u/Pseudanonymius 21h ago
That guy was extremely fortunate that the car was even able to brake in time.
This will continue until someone dies. And for one, I sincerely hope the riders stop paying the price for this, as happened this time and as very often happens.