Chris Froome punches fan during Stage 8 of #TDF2016 https://t.co/7xxDR8ESoX
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) July 9, 2016
The Tour de France is the most important cycling event in the world. And from a layman’s perspective, it can be downright gnarly. Riders carry dizzying speeds through tight village streets and up and down steep mountain passes. And over-enthusiastic fans can be a serious impediment to winning the event. Here, Chris Froome, a talented British rider gets sick of the fanfare and socks this Colombian fan in the face. The man was reportedly yelling and screaming, getting extremely close to the peloton while carrying a flag which the Brit apparently feared was going to get stuck in his front spokes. So he took action. Froome was fined $200 by the UCI for his punch but many pundits in the cycling world are saying his actions were justified (Froome has actually been spit on and had urine thrown at him in previous years).
This after we posted yesterday about a fan that tripped on the cord of an inflatable banner causing a massive pileup. After seeing guys like Lance Armstrong pretty much do everything in their power (legal or otherwise) to win this race, we have a basic understanding of just how important the event is and what these athletes will do to win even a single stage. Road cycling is a sport of the people and absolutely gigantic in Europe. It’s relatively inexpensive to find a bike to commute with or ride around town, so it’s easy to see why the “everyman” European can relate with the sport. Hundreds of thousands of people come out to watch the spectacle as the best riders in the world try to win the sport’s biggest event. That’s why it’s not hard to forgive a guy like Froome–who’s twice won the Tour–for clearing the path. And after his Stage 8 win, he’s again in the lead in France.
