Did a selfie-taking fan really cause a massive crash on Stage 15 of the 2023 Tour de France?
There’s carelessness and then there is blatant disregard. Cyclists in the 2023 Tour de France got a harsh reminder of the latter during the 15th stage.
We’ve all heard stories of people having accidents while trying to selfies, but it’s not so common to hear about them causing accidents and certainly. Indeed, this might well be the worst one in the history of silly selfies.
And that’s why taking a selfie during the Tour de France is a bad idea
There’s no diplomatic way to describe the actions of one fan during the 15th stage of the Tour de France on Sunday. Apparently unable to control his need to photograph himself during the famous race, a man who was seen wearing a white hat inadvertently made contact with one of the competitors, which in turn resulted in a massive crash. With an arm extended in the pathway of the riders, the spectator managed to clip American rider Sepp Kuss’ handlebars as he passed by. As you can imagine, Kuss crashed and in so doing brought a multitude of other riders down with him. The pileup included his teammate, Nathan van Hoodonck of Belgium.
In total, about 20 riders crashed, and in the end, it was Dutch cyclist Wout Poels won the stage to capture the first stage win of his career. “There was a narrowing in the town and a spectator in the road, and I guess he just clipped my handlebars,” Kuss said when speaking about the incident afterward. “Luckily I’m O.K., 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.”
Fans have caused crashes before in Tour de France
Though the reason behind it wasn’t as self-absorbed as Sunday’s accident, this isn’t the first time that a fan has caused a huge crash during the famous race. Prior to Sunday’s crash which occurred approximately 50 kilometers into the 179-kilometer stage from Les Gets les Portes du Soleil to Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc, another infamous crash took place as recently as 2021. While holding a sign, a woman clipped a rider in a similar fashion which caused a significant pileup. Two cyclists were forced to withdraw, while eight were injured. The woman in question eventually turned herself in and was forced to pay a fine after a court hearing.