WATCH: Tour De France Temporarily Halted By Climate Activists Sitting in the Middle of the Course, Setting Off Smoke Bombs
The Tour de France is well underway but the event took a sharp detour earlier today when climate change activists blocked the middle of the course, forcing the race to temporarily shut down.
NEW – Eco activists glued themselves to the race track and hampered the Tour de France with smoke bombs.pic.twitter.com/3gVACLuDS9
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) July 12, 2022
As stage 10 of the race began today, riders would soon encounter several protesters sat defiantly in the middle of the race course. While some riders attempted to navigate their bikes around the people, some were completely inhibited as colored smoke bombs began to go off, blocking the visibility on the track.
(Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
According to Cycling News, a group called Derniere Renovation took responsibility for today’s protest that caused major delays for the competitors. The group is working to call government attention to the climate change crisis which, they believe, is coming to a dangerous head within the next 989 days.
Tour de France protesters . Have stopped the race #tourdefrance pic.twitter.com/DonfEwXFBI
— DANNY ROTHSCHILD (@DROTHS1322) July 12, 2022
The group posted to their website shortly after the protest to declare that they no longer were willing to stand idle as the world moves closer to complete environmental destruction.
One protester, only identified as “Alice, 32” said, “The reality is that the world to which the politicians are sending us is a world in which the Tour de France will no longer be able to exist. In this world, we will be busy fighting to feed ourselves and to save our families. Under these conditions we will face mass wars and famines. We must act and enter into civil resistance today to save what remains to be saved.”
(Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
Cyclists were forced to dismount and wait as officials escorted the protestors off the course and away from the riders. Worried competitors were assured that their place in the pack would be sustained.
The frontrunner of the race, Tadej Pogačar, who has a lead of 32-seconds, was stopped by an official on a motorbike, notifying him that the entire race would need to pause.
Once the protestors had been removed, organizers worked to restart the race. Danish rider Magnus Cort Nielsen would go on to win the 10th leg of the race, marking the halfway point of the entire competition.
