‘You morons!’ Tour de France riders furious after nail attack on the road causes mass punctures
Tour de France riders were attacked by nails in the final kilometers of stage two in San Sebastian.
Several drivers suffered punctures on the final stretches of the 209km journey through the Spanish Basque Country. Lilian Calmejane posted a video on social media showing his bike after the race, with five nails in the front tire.
“Thank you for this kind of human cops…” he tweeted. “I don’t think I was the only victim of a flat tire in the end. Know that you can fall with your cops and really hurt yourself, you idiots.”
The race radio reported a series of tire failures about 20km from the finish line, affecting 15 to 20 riders. The race organizer ASO is investigating the incident.
Ineos Grenadiers’ Tom Pidcock was one of those to suffer a slow puncture but made it to the finish. Jayco-Alula’s Luke Durbridge also suffered a puncture and his tires were studded with nails.
Victor Lafay gave his Cofidis team their first Tour de France victory in 15 years when he won stage two. With a kilometer to go, the Frenchman prevailed and held off the pursuers in the closing meters while Tadej Pogacar in third claimed bonus seconds ahead of reigning champion Jonas Vingegaard.
