“Today, there are clever little ones who have nailed it, here it is… Three, four, five. Thank you… It lasted for 10 kilometers like that”, plagues Lilian Calmejane, the runner from the Intermarché-Circus-Wanty formation (58th in the stage 6’26” from Victor Lafay) in a video posted on Twitter. The Belgian Oliver Naesen (AG2R-Citroën), victim of the same misadventure, replied “Same”. This does not tarnish the fantastic reception of spectators from the Basque Country at the Tour de France, but it sheds light on the series of punctures which marked the end of the stage.
Malicious gestures reminiscent of episodes experienced by the pioneers of the Tour or when, more recently, nails were thrown on the road to Valence in 1996 or when in 2012 between Limoux and Foix, around thirty riders in the peloton were stopped by punctures due to upholstery nails thrown on the road. “Thank you for this kind of human bullshit. I don’t think I was the only victim of a puncture in the final… Know that you can fall and hurt yourself very badly with your bullshit, bunch of idiots, ”insists Lilian Calmejane in a fit of easily understanding anger.
