Line crossed on mountain of doom
Spectator interaction makes the Tour unique but it is also proving to be its achilles heel
Chris Froome running up Mont Ventoux after an accident caused by the vastness of the crowds had damaged his bike beyond use. Photo: Bernard Papon
'The Tour is finished," wrote its founder Henri Desgrange in 1904 after the second edition of the race was wrecked by cheating and crowds intervening violently to manipulate the race in favour of their local heroes.
Desgrange added that his brainchild had been "killed by its own success and the blind passions it has unleashed". Although he was referring to riders who had hopped on trains rather than ride their bikes, his words resonate in the week that provided what could be the defining image of the 2016 race: Chris Froome running up Mont Ventoux after an accident caused by the vastness of the crowds had damaged his bike beyond use.
