So, what do we do with spectators?

[Galic Ho]

Re:

What's wrong with using camera images to find idiots, like in football/soccer? similarly why can Italy and Spain get the assistance of 100s of policemen / guardia civil while I never see any in the Tour?

This. This is what I have been wondering. The police and Guardia Civil have changed the nature of the mountain stages in Italy and Spain, which use to be quite feral when looked at next to the Tour.

That's reversed and can be rectified. The ASO just has to organise it. Yes, it will cost money...it's worth it.

 

[Singer01]

If everyone was charged even a tiny nominal fee it would easily pay for either barriers or enough security. Also other fans need to tell ***** to stop being *****.

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Re: Re:

The pros of spectators right by the cyclists on the way up to a summit finish outweigh the cons by a landslide.

Pros:

1) It looks great on TV
2) ...?

 

[gazr99]

Question if you were a pro rider, riding in the TDF at the moment , following yesterday's crash, the tragedy in Nice and even the attack in Paris in November would you feel safe with the current security especially on the mountains? I know I wouldn't

 

[glassmoon]

this case is a bit unique though. the MTF was dramatically shortened so all those spectators who were camping there for days (waiting for epic battle) have to squeeze into a lot smaller space.

 

[trucido]

Re: Re:

The pros of spectators right by the cyclists on the way up to a summit finish outweigh the cons by a landslide.

Pros:

1) It looks great on TV
2) ...?

I know huh, I also struggled to figure out what the so-called "pros" were that are overwhelmingly in favour of having the spectators next to the riders.

Advertisements for mankinis?

 

[Jonhard]

People are there for a long time with nothing to do. They drink. Drunk people are disinhibited, unbiddable and prone to reckless stupidity. There was no respect for Merckx in 75 either... nothing new about it.

The surprise is that this doesn't happen every year. Personally, I don't like watching those crowds at all.

70s motor racing was more exciting than it is today, but sometimes things have to move on.

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Re:

People are there for a long time with nothing to do. They drink. Drunk people are disinhibited, unbiddable and prone to reckless stupidity.

The Polish guy with the Majka sign really takes the biscuit.

 

[Armchair cyclist]

Re:

Honestly, what's up with people being more interested in getting on TV than, you know, what's cycling? Just take that idiot with the sign today! What the **** was he doing?

As for the barriers/lack of same: Sure, they can't put barriers everywhere, but you'd think they'd be able to put some up with 500 m to go.

That idiot was wearing a cycling kit, and carrying a poster cheering on Majka. People interested in the sport can be idiots too.

Barriers were up in the last 500m: the incident happened at about 1200m to go.

 

[King Boonen]

Re:

What's wrong with using camera images to find idiots, like in football/soccer? similarly why can Italy and Spain get the assistance of 100s of policemen / guardia civil while I never see any in the Tour?

In football idiots buy a ticket which means a paper trail. They have arrived at the stadium by routes that usually involve CCTV etc. They are also sometimes known to the police already.

Compare that to cycling, where people arrive from everywhere, there is no long of who is there, no CCTV to catch cars, numberplates etc. It would be an incredibly difficult task to track anyone down.

On top of that you need to know who to blame. If they are running alongside a rider it's pretty obvious, but what if it isn't. We don't know what happened yesterday but one suggestion is a fan fell and blocked the road. Is it that fans fault? Were they pushed? Were they actually in a sensible position when they arrived but others swelled the crowd behind them and forced them forward? It's too hard to work out what's going on in some cases.

As for lining the route with security, seems like the only feasible option to me.

 

[cocteau_ireland]

Get back to how it was done,old school. In this case,Giro 1914 https://mobile.twitter.com/mrtimmoore/status/753860476564545536/photo/1

 

[difdauf]

Re: Re:

Honestly, what's up with people being more interested in getting on TV than, you know, what's cycling? Just take that idiot with the sign today! What the **** was he doing?

As for the barriers/lack of same: Sure, they can't put barriers everywhere, but you'd think they'd be able to put some up with 500 m to go.

That idiot was wearing a cycling kit, and carrying a poster cheering on Majka. People interested in the sport can be idiots too.

Barriers were up in the last 500m: the incident happened at about 1200m to go.

There were barriers before too. They told this part couldn't be secured because of wind.

 

[RedheadDane]

Re: Re:

Honestly, what's up with people being more interested in getting on TV than, you know, what's cycling? Just take that idiot with the sign today! What the **** was he doing?

As for the barriers/lack of same: Sure, they can't put barriers everywhere, but you'd think they'd be able to put some up with 500 m to go.

That idiot was wearing a cycling kit, and carrying a poster cheering on Majka. People interested in the sport can be idiots too.

I didn't say people interested in cycling can't be idiots.
Still, I can't help but wonder if he was mostly interested in cycling, or interested getting on TV to show what a big Majka fan he is.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

Honestly, what's up with people being more interested in getting on TV than, you know, what's cycling? Just take that idiot with the sign today! What the **** was he doing?

As for the barriers/lack of same: Sure, they can't put barriers everywhere, but you'd think they'd be able to put some up with 500 m to go.

That idiot was wearing a cycling kit, and carrying a poster cheering on Majka. People interested in the sport can be idiots too.

Barriers were up in the last 500m: the incident happened at about 1200m to go.

That guy continued to impede the motos by running in front of them. Yes an idiot and the police should be trained to arrest those idiots. He was on the road running in front of vehicles and riders not beside them. There is no place for fools like that except in cuffs and also he should be fined.

 

[BigMac]

You can have a good atmosphere without having the fans so close to the riders. If people have lost their sense of responsibility and basic social skills, then let's have barriers. Here's Mont Ventoux before the clowns:

Pretty good stuff, I'd say. No harm in not having hordes of crazed people swarmed around the riders. If people cannot behave normally by themselves, then, like children, someone must force them to. Or at least impede that their shenanigans and selfishness affect the outcome of races.

The same applies to the many hairpins of Alpe d'Huez, especially the Dutch corner. Don't feed me that baseless and outright fake crap that the race and the spectale would lose by having those crowds forced to the sides of the road. What kills the spectacle is seeing the flocks of drunkards jumping in front of riders and obstructing the road to the point attacks become impossible. At the end of the day it gives nice TV shots and a good photoreportage over at cyclingquotes, and nothing more. Don't tell me it's worth it. It's not.

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Amazing pic that puts things into perspective, Big Mac. It's just that these days everyone feels entitled to run and scream at cyclists.

 

[RedheadDane]

Re:

Amazing pic that puts things into perspective, Big Mac. It's just that these days everyone feels entitled to run and scream at cyclists.

And take selfies "with" them, because as well all know everything is really just another selfie-opportunity.


Force them to ride up the climbs under similar conditions. See how they like it then! :twisted:

 

[RattaKuningas]

Re:

You can have a good atmosphere without having the fans so close to the riders. If people have lost their sense of responsibility and basic social skills, then let's have barriers. Here's Mont Ventoux before the clowns:

Pretty good stuff, I'd say. No harm in not having hordes of crazed people swarmed around the riders. If people cannot behave normally by themselves, then, like children, someone must force them to. Or at least impede that their shenanigans and selfishness affect the outcome of races.

The same applies to the many hairpins of Alpe d'Huez, especially the Dutch corner. Don't feed me that baseless and outright fake crap that the race and the spectale would lose by having those crowds forced to the sides of the road. What kills the spectacle is seeing the flocks of drunkards jumping in front of riders and obstructing the road to the point attacks become impossible. At the end of the day it gives nice TV shots and a good photoreportage over at cyclingquotes, and nothing more. Don't tell me it's worth it. It's not.

Interesting picture. I wish that things would be like this in this era also but unfortunately many people on the roadside didn't come to watch the race.
Tour de France is such a big event that it attracts all the worst "fans" around the world and concentrates them all in the small area on the mountain top finishes and the result is what we have now.

 

[Pennino]

Looking at that picture makes me sick. What a messed up world we live in nowadays. Freedom and wealth kill normal behaviour.

 

[doperhopper]

easy: send amotorbike upfront with extra long blade running chainsaws pointing sideways

 

[SeriousSam]

I usually dismiss nostalgic dreams about how great things were in the past, and insist that people have always been the same, but that picture tells a different story.

 

[CheckMyPecs]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2016/jul/16/tour-de-france-chris-froome-mount-ventoux-crowd-size-incident

 

[Tonton]

Re:

I usually dismiss nostalgic dreams about how great things were in the past, and insist that people have always been the same, but that picture tells a different story.

Yep, before the me-me-me era, FessesBouc (Facebook), the culture of the 15 seconds of fame, entitlement, et caetera. It all started with that Devil, everybody found him funny...the rest is history. Many Americans in the Lance years made it the Pamplona race-with-the-riders thing, look at vids: that's when it started. Not to blame anyone. The question is: what do we do about it? A law with hefty fines, enforcement, let the cops kick A$$. And the fans participate, prosecution free. And get Hinault as a free-lance enforcer . Paid by the scalp...

 

[Tonton]

The riders are now a product. The lack of a union is hurting them. If they stopped, in the middle of a TdF, it would send a message. What is Bugno doing? Now. Sleeping well? That's a problem.

 

[Laggard]

Not so sure these idiot fans are a new thing. Some may recall Chiapuci's amazing solo victory on Sestriere in 92. There were thousands on the road and he basically rode through a tunnel of humanity. And anyone recall Eric the photographer? What I see more of now are idiots on cell phones ignoring the race trying to get a selfie with the peloton behind them. And many more people more concerned about being seen by the helicopter camera. How many times have you seen someone back to the race, on their phone frantically waving to their buddy back at home watching the race?

The other big thing seems to be fans trying to outdo each other with the craziest, stupidist costume. It looks like Halloween on some of these stages.