The second stage of the Tour cycliste f\u00e9minin international de l\u2019Ard\u00e8che was cancelled Wednesday due to protests by the \u201cBloquons tout\u201d movement. The race had initially received approval to start. However, organizers were forced to call it off at the last minute.<\/p>\n
The Bloquons tout movement is a decentralized French protest initiative. It advocates for social reforms, strikes, and civil disobedience.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe stage is cancelled at the last moment,\u201d Louis Jeannin, the event\u2019s organizer said<\/a>. \u201cWe had the authorization from the authorities at 10 a.m. to start, and we were expecting an update at 12:30 p.m.\u201d<\/p>\n Demonstrations on course<\/p>\n Jeannin said the decision came after protests developed along the planned route.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, the demonstrations occurred in the area where we were supposed to pass. So the decision was to cancel,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The stage had initially been cleared to proceed with only the safety motorcycles, as the police cars were not available. Meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday morning had approved this plan. Officials ultimately cited \u201crisks of d\u00e9bordement,\u201d or potential incidents, as the reason for calling off the race.<\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s first stage saw reigning world champion Lotte Kopecky take the overall lead after a hilltop finish split the peloton. She finished ahead of Italy\u2019s Eleonora Ciabocco, with the Netherlands\u2019 Mischa Bredewold four seconds back.<\/p>\n