Tour de France stage 10 held up by climate protest
The stage was halted for about 15 minutes before it could resume.
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Stage 10 of the Tour de France was temporarily neutralized following a climate protest along the route from Morzine to Megève.
The incident occurred with about 36 kilometers remaining as the breakaway and peloton rode through the valley toward the Montée de l’altiport de Megève.
Television pictures showed a group of around eight people sitting in the center of the road and a flare going off, covering the scene in red smoke.
Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost), who had attacked from the large breakaway and was riding solo, picked his way through the group.
Also read: The green revolution: The Tour de France is trying to clean up its eco act
However, he was soon told to stop as was the rest of the breakaway and the peloton, which was being paced by UAE Team Emirates at the time.
Former Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins, who is broadcasting from the back of a motorbike for GCN during the race, recounted seeing organization members dragging the protestors from the road into the verge.
The riders were stopped for about 15 minutes before the race was cleared to resume with Bettiol being given a 27-second head start on the rest of the 24-man breakaway. The peloton had far longer to wait as it was 7:30 behind Bettiol when the race was stopped.
It’s not the first time that French climate protestors have interrupted a major sporting event in France. An activist glued herself to the net during the French Open semi-final between Marin Cilic and Casper Ruud, holding up the match for 15 minutes.
Protestor at Roland Garros in Paris just over a month ago had the words "we have 1,028 days left" on her t-shirt – not a huge surprise to see French climate protestors target the Tour too https://t.co/AV89PpY5Fx
— Tilda (@matildaprice_) July 12, 2022