wasn’t even qualified to race the , but behind-the-scenes wrangling opened the door to start Sunday to deliver in 40 years.

A decision weeks ago to replace triathlete with Faulkner on the two-rider U.S. team put her on the start line Sunday and set into motion the dynamics to win the gold medal.

In a spectacular race Sunday, Faulkner marked favorites and then pounced late to solo to America’s first gold medal since and both won gold in road racing in Los Angeles 1984.

Knibb, who is racing in mixed triathlon late in this Olympic Games, didn’t race Sunday after giving up her

“It was an easy decision to make. She’s never raced on the road before, and we talked about the pros and cons of it,” USA Cycling’s head of performance Jim Miller told Velo.

“They have a triathlon team relay the day after the road race, so I talked to their team, and I said if I was in your shoes, I would probably want her not to race this because you can win a medal in the triathlon relay.”

The triathlete punched her ticket for the Paris Olympics after beating Faulkner by 11 seconds in the U.S. national time trial race in May, which earned her a spot in both the road race and time trial in Paris.

KRISTEN FAULKNER IS AN OLYMPIC CHAMPION!

— NBC Sports Cycling (@NBCSCycling)

While a solid performer on the cycling legs in triathlon, Knibb has no experience racing in the bunch, and everyone decided the best thing to do was to allow the more experienced Faulkner start the women’s race.

Knibb, who crashed three times during a wet and treacherous time trial race to open the Olympic Games, opted not to race the road race.

Everyone agreed, and Knibb offered up her spot to Faulkner.

The replacement was made even easier with Faulkner confirming her chops on the road with some big wins in 2024, not to mention that she was already part of the women’s team pursuit squad on the track.

“Taylor agreed, so it was a mutual decision and an easy conversation,” Miller said. “With Kristen, we know we have a very strong card to play in the road race.”

Faulkner, however, said she wasn’t convinced that she wanted to take the spot on the road race because she’s also a key member of the four-rider team pursuit team in track racing this week.

“I almost didn’t race the road race, and I had to ask myself if I would be capable of racing the road race and be ready for the team pursuit. We want to medal, that’s why we’re here,” Faulkner said.

She discussed it with her coaches and decided it was worth the risk, and she even simulated the 72-hour window from the road race to the team pursuit qualifying during her preparation for the Games.

“I decided I would only do the road race if I was confident I could medal,” she said. “I even decided if I was dropped I would pull out to prepare for team pursuit, and I would only continue in the race if I believed I could medal.”

That decision proved right on target, as Faulkner attacked up the first assault of the Montmartre climb Sunday to ride into the leading medal group.

She linked up with the leading duo with 4km to go, and didn’t even blink.

Faulkner then attacked while the others looked on, and she rode away with gold.

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“Less busy than usual.” That’s what pops up on Google Maps when this intrepid reporter is looking to book a table in the elegant Paris neighborhood of Saint-Germain-des-PrĂ©s.

In fact, no reservations are needed across Paris as the mix of negative headlines and pre-Games hype is keeping away the hordes during these .

Hard-core sports fans are piling and there are big crowds for major events, including this weekend’s and , but several venues are seeing empty seats.

Paris is devoid of the masses of summer tourists who typically clog the City of Light every July and August.

That’s not to say there are no tourists, but there are certainly a lot less than normal.

There are no long ticket lines at MusĂ©e d’Orsay, and no waiting list for a lunchtime table at Les Deux Magots. The metro and RER lines are quiet and it’s easy to zip around the city by bike.

“Trùs dommage!” said a taxi driver Sunday morning. “Normally in summer we are booked one day in advance, now we are all waiting 30 minutes for a fare.”

That lament echoes across Paris’ typically tourist-swamped Left Bank.

Tables on the terraces of the Rue de Buci were sitting empty on a Saturday night, and museums and top tourist sites have plenty of same-day tickets.

The normally busy streets from Le Marais to the Arc de Triomphe are eerily quiet.

“Everyone left the city if they could and the tourists are scared to come,” said one hotel receptionist. “We are normally booked solid all summer, now we have free rooms during the Olympics.”

Empty streets, empty seats

It’s the same in nearly every Olympic Games.

Pre-Games hype sends a bolt of fear among the locals and scares away tourists who expect lockdowns, security checks, road closures, and traffic jams.

And a lot of that is true.

The Eiffel Tower is closed off to tourists, and many of Paris’ top attractions have been converted into sports venues, including the Place de la Concorde, Gran Palais, Les Invalides, and the area around the TrocadĂ©ro and the Eiffel Tower.

Some of the famed bridges over the River Seine are also closed, including the gold-fringed Pont Alexandre III and others, but most have re-opened after the opening ceremony Friday night.

The entire city center of Paris along both sides of the Seine, roughly from the Eiffel Tower to Notre Dame, was on a multi-down restricted zone that was open only to residents or hotel guests.

More than 44,000 ugly metal barriers were put up in Paris this week as part of massive security preparations ahead of the Olympics, which formally kicked off yesterday.

Locals are not thrilled.

— POLITICOEurope (@POLITICOEurope)

That’s since been lifted, but a strong police presence remains high across the city as officials are clamping down to try to avoid any risk of a terrorist attack or political disturbances.

So far, things have been very quiet.

What’s keeping fans away?

In the run-up to the Paris Games, hotel prices were marked up dramatically, with rooms going for $900 a night and more during the key Olympic dates between July 26 and August 11.

Business travelers as well as tourists are staying away, either rescheduling meetings or going to nearby Spain or Italy instead.

One report in Euronews said hotels were sitting on 25 to 40 percent unbooked inventory, and prices have been slashed to try to fill rooms.

This reporter booked a room for the Olympic Games barely a week before the opening ceremony, and found dozens of reasonably priced rooms in the city center, with double rooms with breakfast starting at $175 per night, prices not seen since before COVID-19.

Airlines have also reported under-sold flights, with Delta and Air France both expecting to lose $100 million during the Games, according to media reports.

There are plenty of tickets available for most Olympic events across all sports, and things typically pick up during the second week.

Paris looks gorgeous for Olympic Games

There’s still plenty of Olympic buzz around Paris, and the city is absolutely gorgeous as it’s dressed up and well-lit for its closeup for the worldwide TV audience.

Sport fans pour out of the venues and into bars and cafés, often watching more Olympic events live on TV and cheering on their home nations.

National and sponsors “houses” — a longtime Olympic tradition — keep the vibe and booze flowing at different spots across Paris.

For Parisians who’ve stayed home, a few hassles here and there with road closures, construction sites, and detours is a small price to pay for a few weeks of relative calm.

“It’s like we have our city back,” one Parisien said as they sat idly on a shady terrace. “Paris has not been this quiet in decades.”

Paris right now might not be ideal for that once in a lifetime trip, but it’s perfect for anyone who wants to watch the Olympic Games in person or just loll away an afternoon at a Parisien cafĂ©.

The are this weekend. It’s still not too late.

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America invented mountain biking 40 years ago when hippies and hipsters took to fat-tire racing on fire roads in California and Colorado, but it wasn’t until Sunday that a U.S. racer won silver in the .

, born in 1998, battled back from a broken wheel early in by an untouchable to finish second, the best by a U.S. rider in cross-country since MTB became a medal sport in 1996.

“I visualized finishing with the medal around my neck for a long time,” Batten said. “So I know it feels like something special, but I can’t explain how amazing this is.”

It must feel historic.

Her silver is the first U.S. Olympic medal in cross-country since Georgia Gould was third in 2012 London. Mountain bike pioneer Susan DeMattei also won bronze in the inaugural Olympics in 1996.

No American male has won an Olympic mountain bike medal.

It almost didn’t happen.

Broken Wheel but not Broken Dreams

Batten destroyed her front wheel on one of the early laps and ceded valuable terrain after making a wheel change.

“I got a flat tire and destroyed my front wheel and I think I had the fastest wheel change ever,” she said. “I knew the start was important. And I messed it up. That was really disappointing and I thought I lost my chance of a medal right there. I stayed calm.”

Batten raced on the Elancourt Hill course before and knew that the mix of fast gravel-like tracks and the technical berms, jumps, rock gardens, and drops were in her wheelhouse.

She started picking off groups of riders in her comeback without giving up hope.

Up the trail, France’s Loana Lecomte crashed heavily and was knocked unconscious while riding in the bronze medal position behind Ferrand PrĂ©vot. She suffered a concussion and a jaw injury, but was not otherwise seriously injured.

Puck Pieterse (Netherlands) looked to have a lock on silver at about 1 minute behind Ferrand-Prévot when she suffered a puncture midway through the race.

That gave Batten, who found an ally in 2016 Olympic champion Jenny Rissveds (Sweden), the opening she needed.

The pair worked together to move up into the podium places in the closing laps and fended off a resurgent Pieterse, who finished fourth, and Evie Richards (United Kingdom) in fifth.

“Me and Jenny have been racing every single race this year. She’s made me a better athlete,” she said. “I knew when we were together in those last few laps, I knew it’d be really really hard to beat her.

“I put my whole heart and soul in today’s race and I knew after she gave a couple of really big attacks that she might be burning a little bit too many matches,” she said. “My legs never hurt for some reason. I just I don’t know I just wanted it so so bad.”

Threat of a Protest Doesn’t Cast a Pall

The race wasn’t without controversy.

A frustrated Pieterse crossed the finish line in fourth just 21 seconds out of the medals, and she approached third-place Rissveds at the line. What did she ask?

“She asked if I was going to protest the medal,” Rissveds said.

What was the issue?

Batten was spotted racing through the technical zone on the final lap without taking a water bottle or receiving technical assistance, something that the race jury noticed.

After the race, Dutch officials wanted to protest to the UCI, but race rules do not allow a formal protest, Wielerflits reported.

Velo asked Batten after the press conference if there was a threat of losing the medal?

“I don’t know if there’s a protest, we’ll see,” she said.

At the finish line, journalists asked Batten why she did not grab a water bottle, as UCI rules suggest.

“No, I did not grab a water bottle,” she said, with the American flag draped across her shoulders. When asked if she was supposed to, she replied, “I have no idea. I was in the moment.”

Media reports stated afterwards that she was handed a 500 CHF fine for ‘failure to respect the instructions of the race organisation or commissaires (using the pit lane without feeding or heaving technical assistance).’

USA Cycling officials confirmed that no formal protest was filed and that the silver medal — and the historic result — stand.

For Batten, her personal mountain bike and Olympic journey began in 2012, the last time an American won a mountain bike medal.

“That was the year that I decided I wanted to be an Olympian because of her,” she said of Gould’s medal in 2012. “I just won my first junior national title and Georgia is the reason why I’m here today.”

With one eye on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, Batten is hoping to emulate Ferrand-Prévot, who was untouchable on a triumphant victory on home roads.

An American gold on American dirt in an American Olympics: there’d be no better way to write more history.

Second place for USA!

Haley Batten earns in cycling women’s mountain bike cross-country for . It’s their first medal in the event since 2012! | | | |

— The Olympic Games (@Olympics)

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American cyclist Sepp Kuss will not start the 2024 after coming down with a case of COVID,Ìęofficials with his Visma-Lease a Bike team confirmed Tuesday.

officials said Kuss, who won the 2023 Vuelta a España, is not in any condition to start the race, which kicks off this Saturday, June 29, in Florence, Italy. He will be replaced by Dutch cyclist Bart Lemmen.

“Sepp Kuss has not recovered sufficiently from COVID, and will not start,” a brief press note stated.

There was no immediate reaction from Kuss on social media.

The news comes after Kuss withdrew from the French race Critérium du Dauphiné after the race, when ran June 2-9, event entered the French Alps. Kuss had told Velo that he had suffered an illness during the Dauphiné, but did not indicate it was COVID.

Kuss, 29, was listed on Visma-Lease a Bike’s Tour roster that included two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert, both returning from injury.

His exit will be a huge blow for Visma-Lease a Bike, a team that won all three grand tours in 2023 but one that’s been struggling with crashes and illnesses across this season.

The popular Colorado climber was potentially a “Plan B” for Visma-Lease a Bike if Vingegaard — who hasn’t raced since crashing out of Itzulia Basque Country in April —Ìę with Tadej Pogačar and the other GC favorites.

Kuss, who finished all three grand tours last season, won a stage in the 2021 Tour and hit a career-best 12th overall in last year’s edition.

Visma-Lease a Bike, which is known as the “Killer Bees” due to the squad’s yellow jerseys, could pivot its focus to American Matteo Jorgenson as a GC alternative if Vingegaard cannot match the pace of Pogacar and other rivals. The Idahoan was second overall to PrimoĆŸ Roglič at the CritĂ©rium du DauphinĂ© earlier this month, and has been on a lone bright spot for the team in 2024, with victories at Dwars door Vlaanderen and Paris-Nice.

Visma-Lease a Bike will limp into the Tour with Vingegaard, Van Aert, and Christophe Laporte all coming off injuries and setbacks in what’s been less-than-ideal preparations for their respective Tour ambitions.

The late-hour DNS is also a personal blow for Kuss, who’s started the past four Tours in a row.

Kuss is scheduled to defend his Vuelta crown later this season, and there was no immediate news about an alternative racing calendar.

TDF line-up change

Sepp Kuss has not recovered sufficiently from Covid and will not start in . Bart Lemmen is his replacement.

Get well soon, Sepp!

— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike)

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, a Colorado cycle-touring institution that dates back decades, is on hold for 2024.

Run each summer since 1986, more than 2,000 cyclists pedaled the roads of Colorado’s high country for one week in a route that changed from year to year.

Organizers announced this summer’s edition—set to be held June 9-15 with stops in Steamboat Springs, Craig, Meeker, Rangely, and Fruita—is canceled due to a lack of registrations.

“After much consideration and evaluation of the limited registration, we regret that Ride The Rockies 2024 is canceled,” a read.

“We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the towns, participants, sponsors, crew, volunteers, and supporters who have had a role in making this ride so special for the past 37 years.”

It remained unclear if the event will return next summer.

“We are assessing the best options for this beloved ride,” organizers said.

Dating back to 1987: A popular draw for weekend warriors and hard-core cyclists

The ride was created by The Denver Post in 1986 when cycling was enjoying its first major U.S. boom thanks to the 7-Eleven cycling team and Greg LeMond’s historic Tour de France rise.

The original route saw riders pedal from Grand Junction to Denver, with daily sectors from 60 to 80 miles.

Each “stage” passed through mountain towns and rural communities, and locals turned out to cheer and offer assistance to the weekend warriors and serious cyclists alike who participated.

The majority of participants slept each night in a mix of school gymnasiums, churches, public buildings, and impromptu camps.

The event soon became a rite of summer, with groups of friends often training together to prepare for the challenge. Many returned to ride the event every summer, and organizers said 80 percent of participants were Coloradans.

The event was sold in 2021 to a subsidiary of Gannett USA Today, Ventures Endurance Events, and was held every summer except for a cancellation during the COVID-19 crisis in 2020.

Officials said anyone who already signed up should check their messages for instructions on what to do next. Refunds are expected within 60 days.

After careful consideration, we regret to announce that Ride The Rockies 2024 is being canceled due to limited registration. If you are registered, please check your inbox for additional information.

— Ride The Rockies (@RideTheRockies)

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American pro cyclist delivered a stunning ride on Thursday, August 10, to win the UCI world championships in the individual time trial.

Dygert, 26, finished six seconds ahead of Grace Brown of Australia. After solidifying the victory, Dygert admitted that she was not at her best during the race, and that she had battled a virus in the days leading up to the event.

“This means a lot for all of us. I am really thankful,” Dygert told reporters at the finish line. “I was really worried. If the race was yesterday, I wouldn’t have started. I spent four days praying I could start. I am still not 100 percent. It was just enough to win.”

The victory marks a return to form for Dygert, who has over the past three seasons. She is one of the most decorated American cyclists in history, and already owns Olympic silver and bronze, as well as multiple world championships victories on the road and track. But since 2020 Dygert has fought to regain her place at the pinnacle of the sport.

After winning multiple world titles in track cycling early in her career, Dygert switched to road cycling in 2019 and won the world championships in the individual time trial. The following season, she was attempting to defend her title at the world championships in Imola, Italy, when she crashed on a hairpin turn and slammed into a metal guardrail.

The impact nearly severed Dygert’s leg—she was rushed to a hospital where doctors performed surgery to repair a deep laceration just above her knee. The injury kept Dygert off the bike for several months, and when she returned, she was not at her world-beating form. Dygert competed in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, earning a bronze in the team pursuit and finishing 7th place in the individual time trial. These were good results, but not at the level she hoped to attain.

Dygert was not done with setbacks. She dealt with constant pain during the 2021 season, and underwent a surgery after the Olympics to remove extra tissue from her wound—the operation did not fix the pain. Then, inÌęMarch, 2022, Dygert was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr virus, and the sickness knocked her out of the European road racing season.

Later that summer Dygert again went under the knife, and this time doctors took out a sizable amount of scar tissue from her knee.

“During my accident in 2020, eighty percent of my quadriceps was completely cut, and the iliotibial band was partially torn,” Dygert wrote online after the operation. “In the healing process after the operation, a large amount of scar tissue has formed that has left me in a constant state of pain, on and off the bike.”

But the physical problems continued. In November, 2022, Dygert had yet another surgery: a cardiac ablation to address a heart arrhythmia. Dygert said she suffered from supraventricular tachycardia—a condition where the heart beats faster than usual for prolonged periods of time—and that the operation was the best way to address it.

In a June łŐ±đ±ôŽÇ±·±đ·ÉČő,ÌęDygert said the series of injuries, setbacks, and operations left her feeling helpless.

“It was hard. I don’t want to make excuses or go into too much detail, because don’t want to make excuses, or make me sound weak. But there were times where my life didn’t matter to me anymore,” Dygert said. “There were not good days, it was hard. The crash itself, it took everything in my body to be able to want to even compete at the Olympic Games. The pain that I had until I had this last surgery, I never thought I was going to be okay again, I never thought I was going to be at the top level again.”

Racing to Win

Dygert appeared to be close to her best at the 2023 UCI world championships in Glasgow, Scotland. On August 3 she won gold in the Individual Pursuit event on the track.

But prior to Thursday’s road time trial, her Canyon-SRAM trade team put out a press release that she was not feeling 100 percent before the start of the race. The news opened the door for Dygert’s rivals to seize the opportunity. But pre-race favorites and (SD Worx) also struggled in the race.

Vollering, who recently won the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, finished sixth. Reusser, meanwhile, stepped off her bike during the race, and it was unsure why she pulled out.

Dygert posted the early fastest time on the long, 36.2km course, stopping the clock in 46 minutes, 59 seconds in 46.229 km/h. Brown was second at 6 seconds slower, and Christina Schweinberger (Austria) was third at 1:13 slower.

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Nothing was going to stop Dutch cyclist from winning gold in Sunday’s UCI elite men’s road cycling world championships—not even an urgent mid-race trip to the toilet.

Van der Poel, 28, attacked out of a breakaway group in the final 20 miles of the 168-mile race in Glasgow, Scotland, to on Sunday, August 6, and claim the coveted rainbow jersey—the prize given to winners of pro cycling’s biggest one-day race. After the race, media focused on the disaster that nearly derailed van der Poel’s winning ride. He had crashed with a few miles to go, and the pileup left him with a tattered cycling shoe. But van der Poel was able to remount his bicycle and preserve his lead all the way to the finish.

It turns out that van der Poel had overcome an even more dire situation earlier in the event. Van der Poel had to poop—bad. The urge hit him with 119 miles to go. At that point in the race, all of the cyclists were brought to a halt by protestors on the road—the delay lasted nearly an hour. With no port-o-potties near the group, van der Poel had to find another way to relieve himself.

“I had to knock on the door of a couple’s house along the course,” van der Poel told Dutch TV on Wednesday. “I really owe them and I would like to thank them so much. I couldn’t have carried on racing without their help. It was the biggest race of my life and it was so kind of these people to let me in their house and let me sit on their toilet.”

Pro cycling has a long history of bizarre mid-race bathroom breaks. Road racesÌę are so long and grueling that cyclists often must stop to do their business. Oftentimes, the peloton will pull over to the side of the road for a quick mid-race pee stop. These breaks can be strategic

Other stops are more urgent. American great Greg LeMond famously suffered gastrointestinal distress during the 1986 Tour de France and had to defecate into a teammate’s cycling cap (LeMone went on to win the yellow jersey). And contemporary cycling fans likely remember the plight of another Dutch cyclist, Tom Dumoulin, during the 2017 Giro d’Italia.

As the group of favorites approached the feared Passo Umbrail on the Italy-Switzerland border, cameras caught sight of Dumoulin abruptly slow down, jump off of his bicycle, and . It turns out the Dutch racer was also battling a stomach bug and needed to relieve himself immediately.

The bathroom break slowed Dumoulin, but he, too, was able to bounce back. He won the 2017 Giro d’Italia.

The Dutch superstar was lucky to be able to shake off a crash late to win Sunday’s enthralling and brutal elite men’s road race in Glasgow, but his lucky stars lined up even more so earlier in the race.

“It’s unbelievable, I’m now the first Dutch world champion in 38 years,” van der Poel said about his own harrowing mid-race stop. “It was a crazy day. But I have to go back to the middle of the race for the most important part.”

Scottish media tracked down the fans who let van der Poel use the potty pages. ,Ìęa Scottish tabloid, ran a full-page front-page photo, with the headline that read, “Thank poo very much.”

Van der Poel wasn’t the only person to use the potty. Apparently, the entire Dutch team felt a call of nature during stop for the protests.

The man who allowed van der Poel to use his bathroom, David Findlay, recounted the bizarre scene to Het Nieuwsblad.ÌęHe told the newspaper that the peloton stopped in front of his home for the protests, and shortly thereafter a Dutch coach approached him asking if a rider could use the toilet.

“We did feel that it was a bit of an emergency because the team manager came first and asked if we could let one rider use the facilities, who I now take to be Mathieu van der Poel,” Findlay said. “He was such a nice guy and extremely polite and he was so grateful. The next thing we knew there was another rider and then another and I think we had four of the guys from the Netherlands in.”

Findlay told Scottish newspaperÌęDaily Record that he was simply showing the riders good hospitality.Ìę“Any of the neighbors would have done the same thing,” he said.Ìę“It’s all a bit surreal to be honest, as we’re aware of what a massive race it was and the incident with the protesters made our home a real focal point in world news for an hour or so.”

The moral of the story seems to be: “You gotta go when you need to go.” The potty stop undoubtedly helped van der Poel in the race. When he crossed the finish line several hours later, he became the first Dutch man to win the elite world championship road race since 1985.

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CLERMONT-FERRAND, France — (Jayco-AlUla) was licking his wounds overnight, and (TotalEnergies) was riding the of his life before an inattentive fan ruined it all.

The Belgian was 13th overall when he clipped a spectactor leaning into the race course Saturday, sending him to the hospital and knocking Yates from fourth to sixth in his quest for the final podium.

Also read:

Saturday’s incident isn’t the first nor will it be the last when fans and over-eager spectators shape the outcome of the Tour de France.

Having the fans so close and so near to the racing action is part of the charm and allure of the Tour, so it’s inevitable that things can and will go wrong.

Here are five times fans (and dogs) changed the Tour de France:

5. Dogs on the loose: Yves Lampaert steamed

Dogs causing crashes at the Tour is nothing new. There have been numerous occasions of the years with a dog off the leash creating havoc in the Tour peloton.

One of the most striking examples happened in the 2007 Tour involving Marcus Burghardt, whose carbon wheel completed folded from the impact.

Last year’s opening yellow jersey Yves Lampaert, who snatched the maillot jaune in Copenhagen to open the 2022 Tour, later crashed in stage 12 when a dog got off the leash.

“Leave your dog at home!” barked the Belgian rider on Soudal Quick-Step.

Despite the high number of dogs and pets being strutted around the paddock in this year’s Tour, so far, none have strayed onto the race course.

4. Eddy Merckx sucker punched in 1975

Fans can be partisan at bike races, so much so that Eddy Merckx was famously punched in the guts during the Puy du Dome stage in 1975 in famous clash with Bernard Thévénet.

Also read:

Though the next day was a rest day, Merckx remains convinced that the incident prevented him from winning a sixth yellow jersey. The next road stage was a real brute, with five climbs over the Alps ending at Pra Loup.

Merckx claims he felt searing pain in his abdomen on the final climb and he cramped up, allowing the attacking Thévénet to gap him and take over the yellow jersey. Merckx stayed stuck at five crowns.

3. Wilfried Nelissen strikes a policeman in 1994

Wilfried Nelissen provoked a horrible crash in the 1994 Tour de France when he struck a French police officer at full speed.

During that year’s Tour, police officers were stationed alongside the barriers at about 100m intervals on the finishing straight. It appeared that officer might have been taking a photo as the peloton sped in for the sprint finale.

Nelissen was sprinting along the barriers and struck the officer at full speed, also taking down Laurent Jalabert, who was left with a bloodied nose from the brutal high-speed impact.

Hundreds of police officers line the Tour route each day, from motorcycles patrolling the route, to others posted along the route at every road crossing in each stage.

There was another horrible crash involving Djamolodine Abdoujaparov on the Champs-ÉlysĂ©es in the 1991 Tour reveals just how close the fans can get to the action.

The “Terror from Tashkent” was opening up his attack for the prestigious final sprint in Paris when he veered straight into the sideline fencing, and provoked a massive pileup that took down riders on the right side of the road. Dazed and confused, he eventually was helped across the finish line by teammates, and claimed the first of three green jerseys he’d win.

Though he was crumpled on the road 100 meters from the finish, rules required that he cross the finish line to have the official result.

2. Opi-Omi provokes worst mass crash in modern Tour de France history

The 2021 Tour de France started off in the worse possible way with what was the worst mass crash in race history.

The most infamous opening day crash happened just two years ago with a sign that was seen around the world.

A fan holding a poster meant to say hello to her grandparents — the infamous opi and omi — provoked one of the most horrible high-speed mass crashes in recent Tour history. Riders fell like dominoes as the peloton buckled from the shock of the impact. One rider went down, then 10, then dozens.

Despite the horrific consequences, only three riders crashed out, and one more did not start the next day.

The woman holding the sign later went into hiding as the incident went “viral” across global media. She finally turned herself in to local police after growing pressure. Despite threats of millions of dollars of lawsuits from teams, sponsors, and race organizers, she paid a relatively minor fine.

No word if she’s back at the race this year.

1. Lance Armstrong tangles handlebars with feed bag

Perhaps the most notorious incident involving a too-close-fan came in the 2003 Tour de France with Lance Armstrong.

That year’s Tour was full of ups and downs for the now-disqualified Armstrong, who was racing that year to match the five-straight yellow jersey record held by Miguel Indurain.

Armstrong was attacking in the Pyrénées when his handlebar got tangled up with a fan holding a souvenir musette feed bag handed out by the publicity caravan.

Armstrong was whiplashed to the ground, also taking down Iban Mayo of Spain along with him. Rivals Jan Ullrich and Tyler Hamilton later slowed when they heard Armstrong crashed, who later remounted and won the stage. Those results were later disqualified as part of the USADA case.

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When the time comes for Tour de France stars to train for the upcoming pro cycling season, many head to the island of . There, they decamp to the collection of hotels and bed and breakfasts on the slopes of , the highest point above sea level on any Atlantic island.

The soaring volcano stands 12,188 feet above sea level, and the combination of winter sunshine, thin air, and long, grinding climbs make it an ideal training ground for bicyclists. There are so many world champions, Tour winners, and classics specialists clogging the roadways during certain months that a high-altitude logjam forms at the Parador de Las Cañadas del Teide hotel perched on the edge of the crater.

The competition for a room is so fierce that some WorldTour teams now book reservations there two to three years in advance to secure boarding for the peak winter training windows.

The competition has also spurred entrepreneurs to capitalize on a hospitality opportunity. A chance meeting a few years ago between a British ex-pat living on Tenerife named Jane Lucks and four-time winner is helping to ease the pressure near the top of the volcano. Back in 2017, Lucks spotted on Instagram that Froome would be training on the volcano, and she hung around the Parador hotel until Froome showed up to get a signed copy of his autobiography.

“I started to talking to his soigneur about how they wanted to come back, but the rooms were full,” Lucks said. “I said I know a few people and I could call around. Chris signs the book, we take some photos, and we’re happy. Then two weeks later I get a call from him. Remember us? Can you help us find something?”

Froome’s inquiry got Lucks thinking of possible solutions to the high-altitude stampede of pro cyclists. She and a business partner, another British expat and endurance coach named Carolyn Gaskell, came up with a solution that borrows from familiar short-term rental sites like Airbnb or VRBO. They tapped into a network of locals who own homes, apartments, and cabins on the slopes of the volcano, and started a business to help rent the homes out to Froome and other pro cyclists. It’s like Airbnb, but for stars of the Tour de France.

“We didn’t start out planning to do anything of the kind,” Lucks said. “That’s how it started. We did it as a favor for Chris, and he dealt directly with the owner. And here we are.”

Chasing Altitude on Teide

Only at the Tour de France will you see more star cyclists than during a typical January day on Teide. Riders flock there prior to the season beginning, when other high-altitude destinations in the Alps and Pyrenees are still socked in with snow. The volcano started attracting cyclists a generation ago, and back then, only a handful of elite riders would book out rooms in the Parador hotel. It is perched at the base of the volcano’s highest crater, and it sits at an elevation of 6,500 feet above sea level. For comparison, the summit of famed climb l’Alpe d’Huez is at 6,100 feet.

Back then, many of the cyclists financed the trips themselves. On a few top pros like Froome and Spaniard Alberto Contador had deep enough pockets to hire out rooms for themselves and their personal staffers to live and train out of the hotel for weeks at a time.ÌęIn recent years, however, teams have recognized the value of prolonged high-altitude training camps, and now they budget in cash for hotel stays for riders, staff, and coaches.

“Suddenly there is this massive interest in the altitude camps,” Gaskell told Velo. “The training here is unique. They can go low and train on the flats, and there’s plenty of climbing up four different roads up. There’s a lot of variety and the weather is usually pretty good.”

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But the Parador, with its 37 rooms, could not keep up with the traffic. It’s the only fully-serviced hotel sitting above 6,000 feet on the island. Efforts to book out room made headlines earlier this spring when it VeloNews reported that teams such as Dutch squad Jumbo-Visma were renting out rooms in key training windows two to three years in advance, much to the chagrin of other riders and teams looking to sharpen their high-altitude base miles.

How fast is Remco Evenepoel going after a Tenerife training camp? Very fast.

He crushed a Strava record on the Teide volcano ahead of racing return.

— Velo (@velovelovelo__)

“The story came out in the media this spring and we suddenly received a flurry calls and inquiries for 2024,” Lucks said. “No one else is doing what we are doing up here in Teide.”

After her encounter with Froome in 2017, Lucks began scoping the hillsides in Teide for other homes and cottages. Not knowing who owned the homes, she went into the only restaurant near the Parador and asked the staff if they knew who owned property in the area.

“The waiters said they didn’t know who it was, but only that they owned a record shop. So I started calling all the record shops and I found the owner,” she said. “At first they were suspicious, but they were happy to rent it out.”

Lucks brokered the deal, and Froome and his teammates arrived several months later to rent out the record store owner’s home. The success gave Lucks the idea, and she started networking with more property owners. She found eight who were interested in renting to cyclists—all of the homes are above 6,000 feet on the volcano.

“We found another house, and then we had two houses where we could accommodate riders and staff up there,” she said. “We said, wait a minute, maybe we can turn this into something serious that we can offer all the teams.”

After Froome, word quickly spread around the WorldTour peloton of a cottage industry of rental homes on Teide that were available for cyclists. More WorldTour teams contacted her: Trek-Segafredo and Team DSM became regular visitors, among a half-dozen other squads.

Lucks and Gaskell had to spruce up some of the homes to make them usable by the cyclists and teams. Amenities are sparse on the volcano. Teide looks like a cross between the Nevada desert and the moon, with few plants and lots of barren terrain. At that altitude, most cabins and homes generate electricity from gas generators or solar panels. Water must be trucked in. At some homes, Lucks and Gaskell have had to add kitchen facilities, heat, wifi, and extra rooms. .

“There’s nothing to do up there,” Lucks said. “Some cyclists love that train-eat-sleep routine, and there are others who do like the isolation and can struggle with it.”

They now offer a variety of services as part of their growing cycling portfolio, called . Gaskell, who coaches cyclists, also offers training camps and coaching services, and is working with a young cyclist who hopes to become Tenerife’s first top-level pro.

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They also work with local chefs who can prepare special training-friendly menus for the riders.

But the business is thriving, and Lucks still traces everything back to that chance encounter with Froome. In the years after their meeting, he became a regular customer at the cottages, and offered advice to Lucks and Gaskell about how to make the living spaces more attractive to WorldTour riders. Some riders want to bring their families, or mechanics, so the cottages need to be big enough for multiple people. Wifi is a must.

“We have learned what the riders needs, and we take that feedback to our customers, and they can improve the properties,” Lucks said. “It’s funny that it’s two foreigners who have come with this idea of altitude training camps.”

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Not every team brings a or a to race to win the yellow jersey at the Tour de France.

In fact, only about a half dozen teams have realistic chances of even coming close to the maillot jaune by the time the Tour rolls into Paris on July 23.

Yet hope springs eternal for the 22 starting teams Saturday in Bilbao for the 110th edition of elite men’s cycling’s grandest stage race.

Make no mistake, every team lining up in Spain’s Basque Country this weekend packs big ambitions.ÌęWhether it’s winning a stage, holding a jersey, or riding into breakaways, sport directors will be screaming into race radios to urge their riders on.

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There’s only one winner, two podium spots, and three other jerseys up for grabs.

A major target for any team is a stage victory. There are 21 stages, and with several teams often hogging several wins across the three weeks of racing, there’s not enough to go around.

No wonder you see those tears flowing from among the staffers that played so well in the Netflix documentary.

No matter how big or how poor, each lineup wants to take something out of the Tour.

Here’s a quick breakdown of every team and their respective captains, goals, ambitions, and realistic chances of pulling them off:

Win Or Go Home

Just like in real life, the Tour de France and its peloton is a reflection of a growing disparity between its wealthiest teams and the lower-rung squads operating on one-third to one-quarter the budget of the larger, wealthier rivals at the top.

Coming into this year’s Tour, three teams—Jumbo-Visma, UAE Team Emirates, and Ineos Grenadiers—dominate the race in quality, depth, and success. Going back to 2012, these three teams have won every yellow jersey since then except in 2014, when Vincenzo Nibali won with Astana.

Last year, the peloton’s “Big Three” swept the podium, won 10 of the 21 stages, and claimed all the major jerseys.

Can a team from the peloton’s “middle class” change the script? Probably not. Here’s who’s on top:

Jumbo-Visma (The Netherlands)

Move over Ineos Grenadiers, there’s a new sheriff in town.

Jumbo-Visma is now cycling’s newest super team, with unrivaled depth and diversity across its murderer’s row of a lineup.

2022: The Dutch yellow jackets elbowed their way to the top of the heap emphatically last year, winning its first yellow jersey in franchise history. Jonas Vingegaard did the unthinkable, and toppled Tadej Pogačar to snatch away yellow. The Dane also won the climber’s jersey, and Wout van Aert mined green. AddÌęsix stages between Vingegaard, Van Aert, and Christophe Laporte, and Jumbo-Visma delivered one of the most dominant team performances in years.Ìę

2023: Can the Killer Bee’s match 2022? Jumbo-Visma is tamping down expectations this year ever so slightly. Van Aert promises not to go bonkers or chase green, and with PrimoĆŸ Roglič sitting out this edition, Vingegaard will carry all the weight and responsibility. Super-dooper super-domestique Sepp Kuss is back for the mountains, but won’t have wings to chase a win until Pogačar is riding in the gruppetto.Ìę

Defining success: A stout title defense is expected, and everyone is bracing for an epic tug-of-war between Pogačar and Vingegaard. To win, the Dane needs to remain patient, fend off Pogačar’s likely early aggression, and wait for the longer climbs to pounce. Van Aert might try his hand in a few stage wins, but this July is all about Vingo defending. Anything short of another yellow jersey will sting, but a steady defense even if he’s second will earn him respect.

Odds: 50/50 in a two-horse race with Pogačar.

UAE Team Emirates (United Arab Emirates)

UAE Team Emirates won the lottery in 2019 when it picked up largely unknown Pogačar hot off winning the Tour de l’Avenir. It’s like the Chicago Bulls selecting Michael Jordan, and championship rings fell from the heavens. Matxin and Gianetti found a franchise rider that everyone compares only to Eddy Merckx.

2022: Pogačar came unglued in the French Alps last summer in a rare miscue that’s certainly been gnawing on his mind all winter. A blistering spring was derailed by a broken wrist in April, but as one team insider said, Pogačar could fall into a creek, he’d come out dry.Ìę

2023: UAE brings a solid squad, with Adam Yates, Rafa Majka, and Marc Soler to chaperone him into the climbs. He’ll see support on the flats from Vergard Stake Laengen, Mikkel Brerg, and Matteo Trentin, but it’s all up to Pogačar. If he’s the hungry force he was this spring and his wrist is fully healed, he could be hard to beat.Ìę

Defining success: Insiders say the oil-rich team backers only care about winning. Pogačar isn’t racing for second place, but he needs to be careful not to fall into the same trap as he did last year. A wiser and smarter Pogačar could be even more dangerous. Can one rider do it against the peloton’s strongest team? It’s all or nothing in 2023.Ìę

Odds: 50/50 in a two-horse race with Vingegaard.

Ineos Grenadiers (U.K.)

It wasn’t so long ago that Sky/Ineos ruled the Tour roost. Seven yellow jerseys within eight years with four different riders was unprecedented. Then suddenly the music stopped. Or, more specifically, Pogačar blew the wheels off everyone and Jumbo-Visma muscled in.

2022: Geraint Thomas defied expectations to remind everyone that the old guard had one more dance. Third surpassed expectations and Tom Pidcock’s dramatic stage win at Alpe d’Huez revealed promise, but its victory in the team competition also reminded how different the team’s expectations are in the new reality.

2023: Egan Bernal is the born-again racer in his miracle comeback, but no one’s expecting him to have the firepower to match Vingegaard and Pogačar, at least not this year. Pidcock returns for a second loop with eyes on improving, but a legitimate Tour bid still seems down the road. Daniel Martinez is a long-shot outsider for the podium.

Defining success: Team owner Jim Ratcliffe isn’t paying tens of millions for a job well-done. He wants wins. So the team is under pressure to deliver at least one big W — cue Pidcock — and show something in the GC. Reaching Paris inside the top-10 would be a massive accomplishment for Bernal, who almost died 18 months ago in his horrific front-on collision with a bus. The future looks promising for this crew, but the pressure is on to deliver today.Ìę

Odds: Good for a stage win, but the podium seems far.

Hoping For the Podium

Behind the peloton’s triple crown are a half-dozen teams pounding on the door of Tour redemption.

Not quite as well-funded or super-sized as the leading trio, these teams all punch above their weight in bravado, verve, and attacking style.Ìę

If everyone agrees that the race for yellow is a two-horse race — everyone also knows things rarely go to expectation at the Tour — so the battle for third should be one of the most exciting in the race.

Here are the top podium contenders and their chances:

Groupama FDJ (France)

After fourth last year, France’s next big hope comes in the form of David Gaudu. Anyone who watched the Netflix series will know all about the (over-the-top) passion from team manager Marc Madiot, but the long-running French team always races with heart. The presence of soon-to-be-retired Thibaut Pinot might divide the team’s forces, but otherwise it’s all for what would be France’s first podium since Romain Bardet was third in 2017. Gaudu is first in line if he doesn’t crack.

Podium hopes: 8/10

Movistar (Spain)

If anyone seems destined for the podium, it’s Enric Mas. The burden of being Spain’s “next big thing” hasn’t sat well for mild-mannered Mas. After his infamous meltdown in 2022, Mas bounced back to finish second in the Vuelta. Twice in the top-5, Mas seems poised for a next big step up. American Matteo Jorgenson is tapped as one of his key helpers. The explosive front half might hurt him, but the endless climbs will bolster his hopes if he can hang close.

Podium hopes: 5/10

Bora-Hansgrohe (Germany)

This climb-heavy course should tip in favor of the 2022 Giro d’Italia winner. The front end of the race might be too explosive for Hindley’s ever-steady motor, but he should rise to the top in the gruesome third week. Hindley must avoid crashing and getting gapped until the big mountains arrive, and then keep tapping away.

Podium hopes: 7/10

Presenting our full line-up for !

Emanuel Buchmann
Marco Haller
Jai Hindley
Bob Jungels
Patrick Konrad
Jordi Meeus
Nils Politt
Danny van Poppel

Bring on the Tour!

— BORA – hansgrohe (@BORAhansgrohe)

Bahrain Victorious (Bahrain)

This year’s grueling Tour route is ideal for Landa and his ever-steady, diesel-like engine. Twice fourth, including missing the final spot on the podium by just 1 second, this year is now or never for Landa. Once tapped as a potential grand tour winner, a Tour podium and/or stage win would cap his up-and-down career. The tragic death of Gino MĂ€der will be a factor, and the team will be racing with extra inspiration.

Podium hopes: 7/10

EF Education-EasyPost (USA)

Jonathan Vaughters’ teams have evolved and changed over the years, but one thing remains a constant: EF always brings engaging and interesting teams to the Tour. This year is no exception, and EF could be the Tour’s dark horse. In 2017, Rigoberto UrĂĄn rode within 1 minute of beating Chris Froome in the Tour. This year, UrĂĄn is back, but it’s 2019 Giro winner Richard Carapaz who’s the team’s central hope. He wasn’t overly impressive this spring, but he was third in the 2021 Tour and second in last year’s Giro. To win might be a stretch, but if Carapaz hits his stride, he can attack his rivals to pave his way to the podium.Ìę

Podium hopes: 8/10

It’s almost time for the biggest race of the year. Here is our starting eight for the .

Get excited for an epic Tour. Hear from all our Tour de France racers with the link:

— EF Pro Cycling (@EFprocycling)

Team DSM-Firmenich (The Netherlands)

Once the shining light of French cycling, the two-time podium man Romain Bardet found refuge in the Dutch squad. Far from the pressure, Bardet’s posted a solid spring, and with the climb-heavy course, hope springs eternal for one of the princes of the “Class of 1990.” If Bardet uses his experience to keep hanging on, he might find the legs when he needs them for a final podium spurt in the closing weekend.

Podium hope: 6/10

Sprint teams

There could be up to eight sprint opportunities in this year’s Tour, and with field featuring a few teams that are almost exclusively built around bunch sprints and, to a further degree, breakaways, the transition stages could be thrilling this year in their own right.

With Mark Cavendish chasing a record 35th stage win, and a peloton overflowing with sprinting rivals all desperate to notch their win, the sprints will be highly contested in every chance they get.

Alpecin Deceuninck (Belgium)

The Dutch superstar will be splitting responsibilities with Philipsen, who emerged as one of the best bunch sprinters in last year’s Tour with two wins. Van der Poel will have freedom on lumpier stages, and then play leadout forÌę Philipsen on the flats. When they’re on form and working as a unit, they’re hard to beat.

Sprint haul: 3 stages

Lotto-Dstny (Belgium)

The proud Belgian team lost its WorldTour license last year, but returns with five-time stage winner Caleb Ewan at the center of its ambitions. At least one stage win would be huge for the down-on-its-luck franchise. There will be some chances for Thomas De Gendt in the breakaways, but all eyes will be on Ewan’s revival in the fast lane.

Sprint haul: 1 stage

More teams confirming their ‘Tour 8’

– Groupama-FDJ leave DĂ©mare at home, back Gaudu, Pinot
– Ewan sees sprint support from Lotto-Dstny
– Uno-X names Tour debut squad

Read latest in Tour de France ticker —>

— Velo (@velovelovelo__)

Intermarché-Circus-Wanty (Belgium)

History will be made if Tour rookie Biniam Girmay crosses the line a winner to become the first Black African to win a Tour stage. The team brings some other options, but it’s all in for Girmay in the bunch sprints. He didn’t have a great first half of 2023, but a victory at the Tour de Suisse raises hopes just in time for the Tour.

Sprint haul: 1 stage

Astana-Qazaqstan (Kazakhstan)

Love him or hate him, Cavendish is arguably the Tour’s greatest sprinter. Now tied with Eddy Merckx with 34 stage wins — granted, Big Eddy also won mountain stages and time trials — the Manxster needs just one more to create a club of his own. He’ll miss the leadout from Michael Mþrkþv and Quick-Step, but Cees Bol and Yevgeniy Fedorov will do their level best. All he needs is one. Odds are the cagey Cav will do it.

Sprint haul: 1 stage

Soudal-Quick-Step (Belgium)

Jakobsen “won” the battle to lead Quick-Step last year at Cavendish’s expense, and took an emotional stage win in the first week. The Dutch rider was nearly killed in a horrific crash in 2020, but proved he’s still one of the fastest in the game. With Mþrkþv serving up the red carpet, he should be even more successful this year.

Sprint haul: 2 stages

Hunting Stage Wins

Nearly every other team brings squads filled with mercenaries intent on winning stages, going on breakaways, contesting sprints, and otherwise trying to disrupt the script of the favorites.

Almost none of them have any real skin in the GC game, so the entire success or failure of the Tour rides on winning a stage or not. The pressure is on.

Jayco-AlUla (Australia)

The popular Aussie outfit actually brings a unique duality with Yates and Groenewegen. Last year, the team won two stages, and this year it wants at least that many. Vuelta winner Yates will be targeting stages and could make a run for the King of the Mountains jersey, and Groenewegen will want at least two bunch sprints. American Lawson Craddock might see some freedom as well. Crank up the AC/DC, these guys are ready to race.

Stage haul: 2 stages

Lidl-Trek (USA)

OK, so Mattias Skjelmose might be a podium outsider, but the team’s DNA runs deep with breakaways and aggression. Mads Pedersen won a stage last year, and will be targeting green this year with his consistency in the mass kicks. Jasper Stuyven, Giulio Ciccone, and Skjelmose will but cut loose in appropriate terrain, while freshly minted US champion Quinn Simmons also wants a win.

Stage haul: 1 stage

Ag2r-Citroën (France)

Ben O’Connor should be included among podium contenders, but the Aussie will also want to pivot toward winning a stage if his GC hopes take on water early. Benoit Cosnefroy will also have freedom after the team left Greg Van Avermaet at home.Ìę

Stage haul: 1 stage

Uno-X (Denmark)

The upstart Norwegian-Danish outfit surprised some by earning the Tour de France, but the second-tier squad’s been racing aggressively in every race it starts. Aging lion Alexander Kristoff, Rasmus Tiller, and Tobias Halland Johannessen give the team legitimate chances.

Stage haul: 1 stage

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— Jens Haugland (@Sykkelsjefen)

Arkéa-Samsic (France)

Nairo Quintana’s gone, and the French team rolls on with Warren Barguil leading the charge. Now a WorldTour team, they’re still racing with second-tier ambitions. A stage win would be huge and a surprise.

Stage haul: zero

Total Energies (France)

Peter Sagan is well beyond his best, but everyone will be cheering for one last romp down the finish line for the three-time world champion. Eddy Boasson Hagen is also a perennial fighter. Some close calls will be as good as it gets, even if the heart wants more.

Stage haul: zero

Cofidis (France)

This scrapppy team’s won 11 races so far in 2023, but none of them have been in the WorldTour. Ion Izagirre, Guillaume Martin, and Bryan Coquard all give the team hope, but hope alone does not mean a win at the Tour. They’re coming painstakingly close just about every day.

Stage haul: zero

Israel-Premier Tech (Israel)

The team punched above its weight last year to bring home two surprise wins. Michael Woods looks to be on fine fettle, and Dylan Teuns brings experienced depth. Unfortunately those two will be crossing swords with the Pogačar’s of the bunch. The stars will have to align.

Stage haul: 1 win

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