The Tour de France has been plunged into crisis after a chaotic weekend of racing.
Unruly fans have created anarchy in the French Alps, causing several crashes and threatening many more.
Race leader Tadej Pogacar had to usher spectators out of the way as he flew up the famous Alpe d’Huez en route to the stage victory on Saturday morning.
But some of his colleagues were less fortunate, with Movistar cyclist Einer Rubio taken to a hospital following a horror crash.
The Colombian slammed into the back of a team car which was forced to break suddenly to avoid running over a fan who had fallen into the road.
The driver stopped just inches from disaster but Rubio was helpless to avoid the crash, which cost him a shot at the stage victory and ended his race just days from the finish.
Rubio spent an hour being treated inside the medical truck at the top of Alpe d’Huez after suffering multiple facial injuries.
He was bandaged up before being taken to hospital in Grenoble in an ambulance.
Another rider was lucky to escape a similar fate after crashing into the back of a fan who had been sprinting up the middle of the road with her back to the race.
She was seen cheering with her arms in the air surrounded by fellow spectators, completely unaware of what was happening behind her.
The disorder has sparked calls for more to be done to subdue the rowdy fans.
“Something needs to change. barriers, limiting numbers, even alcohol at this rate,” wrote journalist Robyn Davidson on X.
“We could all sense something would happen on Alpe d’Huez and I know accidents happen, but there’s too much going on. (Remco) Evenepoel stalled by all the motorbikes too.”
“Yesterday, the Tour de France nearly experienced a dark moment,” said presenter Joseph Ruiz.
“Another angle on Rubio at Alpe d’Huez. The driver of the UAE car avoided an absolute disaster by slamming on the brakes!
“A guy pushed under the wheels nearly got his head crushed. By slamming on the brakes, poor Rubio took a real hit.”
“Einer Rubio DNF after hitting the UAE car who had to brake suddenly due to stupid people. I hope Einer is OK, what a shame…” wrote cycling content creator Mihai Simon.
The driver of the UAE team car that Rubio crashed into was team manager Joxean Fernández Matxin, who apologised for the incident.
“In the final kilometres of Alpe d’Huez, with thousands of fans very close to the road and the huge pressure that is always present on any crucial stage of the Tour noticeable as well, a spectator unexpectedly burst onto the scene and fell right under our vehicle,” he wrote on Instagram.
“My only reaction was to brake right away to avoid running over him. It all happened in a few tenths of a second, during which time my only thoughts were about how to avoid a much bigger tragedy.
”After braking, we heard the sound of an impact behind us, but amid the noise, tension, the crowds and the responsibility of continuing to protect the leader of the race, it wasn’t until we reached the finish line that I found out about the extent of the crash and that Einer had to abandon the Tour.
“I immediately called Movistar – the squad’s directors and riders… to express my concern and find out about everything that had happened.”
