The Tour de France — cycling’s most prestigious race — was temporarily halted today after tear gas, used to disperse protesters by police, inadvertently got into the eyes of some riders.
Protesting farmers had blocked the road with hay bales, leading police to spray them with CS gas. Unhappy farmers had organized the protest because they “wanted to be seen” by France’s Minister of Agriculture, Stéphane Travert, according to a police source.
“Looks like the tear gas used by the police on the farmers ended up getting to the eyes of some riders,” tweeted the Quick-Step Cycling team. The police source confirmed the race was stopped because the organizers wanted the gas to disperse to avoid any other riders being affected.
Medical treatment received by the riders was described as “light,” while there were “no injuries” and cyclists were just washing off any molecules of tear gas.
“After a 15 minute-long interruption caused by protesters, the race is back on,” tweeted the Tour’s Twitter feed.
The Tour feed also posted a tweet warning spectators to “respect the riders,” as endangering them can lead to up to three years in prison.
