After days of concern leading into Stage 19, and days of fans pre-game partying on the slopes of Alpe d\u2019Huez, it finally happened. Over exuberant and disrespectful fans caused a rider to crash, and abandon the Tour de France.<\/p>\n
While Tadej Poga\u010bar and Remco Evenepoel were held up to some degree, with SBS Sports showing \u00a0an attempted attack the latter being slowed by a crush of fans, both escaped comparatively unhindered. Which is kind of wild to say. An attack by a rider in podium position was cut short by so-called fans, and it\u2019s not the worst thing to happen on the day?<\/p>\n
Watching the video above is not great. But not the worst thing to happen on Alpe d\u2019Huez on Friday, somehow.<\/p>\n
The worst thing happened just a short distance behind. Overly rowdy fans forced UAE Emirates team car to stop suddenly. Movistar\u2019s Einer Rubio had no time to stop (and now where to go) and slams into the back of the car, slumping down onto the road.<\/p>\n
\u201cHelpful\u201d fans pull the Colombian off the road, and out of the way of a fast-moving Decathlon team car approaching from behind. But Rubio is forced to abandon the race.<\/p>\n
While Rubio isn\u2019t Poga\u010dar, he also wasn\u2019t far back. This kind of terrible behaviour very much impacted riders near the front of the race. Before abandoning, the Movistar rider was just two spots behind Canada\u2019s Derek Gee-West on GC. On Friday\u2019s stage, he was climbing up near the front of the race.<\/p>\n
Which makes one question unavoidable, as unavoidable as that UAE team car: is this still a race? Or just a spectacle?<\/p>\n
#TDF2026<\/a><\/p>\n Einer Rubio ha abandonado la carrera durante la ascensi\u00f3n a Alpe d\u2019Huez.<\/p>\n Ampliaremos la informaci\u00f3n tan pronto como sea posible. pic.twitter.com\/3sMuXQQsdo<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Movistar Team (@Movistar_Team) July 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n A fraught balance<\/p>\n Now, enthusiastic fans are a big part of cycling\u2019s culture. Cramming huge crowds onto the side of iconic climbs like Alpe d\u2019Huez is part of cycling\u2019s tradition. The opportunity to see your heroes up close, without spending thousands on court side seats, is repeatedly touted as what sets cycling apart from other sports.<\/p>\n But are they really your heroes if your actions leave them lying on the pavement unable to continue racing?<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first, or even second or third time fan behaviour has impacted racing. Or even the worst. While Rubio was having a good day, and it is tragic that his race ends just two days from Paris, stage winners and GC favourites have had serious interactions with crushing crowds of fans in the past.<\/p>\n It is to the point where Visma-Lease A Bike\u2019s boss, Richard Plugge warned before Stage 19 that fans were one of the two biggest threats to rider safety<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there\u2019s one big threat to the Tour, it\u2019s two things,\u201d Plugge said. \u201cThe roads and the course are becoming more dangerous, and then there\u2019s the audience. People just jump in front of you.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite numerous incidents in the past, the men in charge of cycling have resoundly rebuffed suggestions of changes. While the final kilometres of Friday\u2019s stage were fenced off, obviously that didn\u2019t deter crowds from the other 9-10km of the climb. When J\u00e9r\u00f4me Pineau suggested paid zones on Alpe d\u2019Huez in the lead up to this year\u2019s Tour, the idea was shot down promptly by ASO and theUCI.<\/p>\n ASO\u2019s Pierre-Yves Thouault chatted with DH Les Sports<\/a> about the idea once. \u201cCycling is, by nature, free to watch,\u201d he said, saying tickets \u201care simply not on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n UCI chief David Lappartient also already weighed in on the idea in 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you try to get people to pay to see the Tour, you get huge resistance,\u201d he said to Ouest-France.<\/a><\/p>\n Seems like the riders are also getting huge resistance in their effort to actually participate in the race. At some point, that has to be a serious consideration too, no?<\/p>\n