Crazy Fans

I am all for spectators being as close to the Pro athletes, as I hope to be able to go to the France one day to see the Tour de France live. I would enjoy being one of the Crazy Fans, but I know that their needs to be some self restraint.

This year there have been a few incidents. The most recent one happening to Paolo Savoldelli of the Discovery Team. “The double Giro d’Italia champion stepped off his bike after 43 kms. The Discovery Channel rider was hit on the head by a spectator on Thursday and had to get stitched up by the Tour’s medical staff overnight.”

There was even another incident in the first few stage where someone crashed due to a fan dropping their camera phone causing the rider to crash.

And if you followed Lance Armstrong’s’ career, you know he was knocked off the bicycle by a fan by getting caught in the strap to the fans bag on an attack against Jan Ullrich.

So, do they need to monitor the Tour de France more to ensure the safety of the participants. My answer on this is yes. If I were in the Tour or any major race, I would not want to be knocked down off the bike by a fan causing me to drop out of the biggest bike race of the year. Now, I am not saying clear the road completely, but at least give the riders 10 feet of clearance from spectators.

Quote found at Yahoo.com