TdF - Chris Froome Welterweight Boxer
 

I like how he calls it a push -- but yeah good for him. Security should have just arrested the spectator for putting the riders in a dangerous situation.

Then there wouldn't be any spectators left. Can't believe they fined Froome for it.

It was over the top belligerent - closed fist punch right at the base of his neck. Froome wasn't trying to push him out of the way, which I'm sure would have been OK.

it was a totally warranted response.

the stupid lump of a spectator was directly in Froome's line and was an immediate hazard to him and other riders.

if someone is too ignorant to not understand it's a jerkwad move to be ON the race course and impeding the action, then a punch to the melon is a suitable reminder to pull one's head out of their ass.

It's hard to tell from the video but it looks like a punch, just as hard as Froome could throw it. If so, it was unwarranted even with the spectator acting like an idiot.

I'm not an avid fan of those races, but in many of the clips I have seen there are spectators running along side, many of them dressed up like a clown of some sort. At the least it's not unusual, perhaps even traditional? So a sucker punch from behind would appear to be assault, and Froome is lucky to get off with a small fine IMO.

-NO! It was definitely a PUSH with an open hand not a punch with a fist. You can clearly see the hqand was open.

https://c8.staticflickr.com/9/8783/2...5e68a5cd_o.jpgFroome Pushes Fan Away by Miele Man, on Flickr

https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8750/2...e7ba4677_o.jpgFroome Pushes by Miele Man, on Flickr

See the fingers where the red lines point?

Cheers

While it may be a "tradition", if running alongside endangers the racers (it does), it is a tradition that should be stopped. Unfortunately, there is no way to secure a 120-mile course from idiots.

And the full punch of the bony-armed Froome is equivalent to getting a hug from my 85-year-old grandmother.

I've watched the Tour many times and I can't but marvell at how close some of those fans get to the racers and how late those fans leave it to get the heck out of the way of those racers. The video shows that Froome used and OPEN hand to PUSH that fan away. Froome said thatthe guy's flag nearly fouled Froome's handlebar and wheel. that's why Froome PUSHED the guy away.

Cheers

The clown with his hair on fire wanted his selfie moment. He got it, along with a bonus.

One rider ran over an idiot today who was standing on the course. Fortunately the rider didn't go down, but the spectator was flat on his back afterwards.

Froome should have got a time bonus instead :D

While it may be a "tradition", if running alongside endangers the racers (it does), it is a tradition that should be stopped. Unfortunately, there is no way to secure a 120-mile course from idiots.

I can't believe this is still permitted/encouraged. There are a lot of traditions that we've outgrown over the years...this should be one of them. I think just telling people it's not OK would be a start; other than that, plant some under covers and start arresting/fining the worst transgressors. Some of these guys should be forced into the running of the bulls.

And the full punch of the bony-armed Froome is equivalent to getting a hug from my 85-year-old grandmother.

That guy's reaction made it look like it hurt. Unless your 85 year old grandmother was a pioneer in MMA at some point, me thinks that may be poetic license ;)

Incidents like these always remind me of the punch Eddy took that essentially ended that Tour for him.
Steps to curtail such spectator behavior did not take hold then, I don't think it will now.

I bet congrats from others in the race.

Yup. That was my thought process on the matter. The spectators don't just endanger that particular moment. They can impact the future for that rider and others. Suppose Froome had gone down. How many others would have gone down? And suppose Froome had gone down and had a career ending injury. Or someone behind him had a career ending injury.

They're just bicycles! The same idiots used to stand in front of Spec B cars

drunk, rowdy clowns along the race route is absolutely a Tour tradition.

but, you seem to not understand that when their presence makes a rider have to alter course or speed to avoid them, they're no longer simply amusing bystanders, but a risk to rider safety.

good on Chris for giving the ****-for-brains a small clue on how to be a proper spectator.

He should have thrown a harder punch at that idiot. He should have knocked him out. The dude had a flag that almost got caught up in Froome's front wheel.

They need to get ride of those guys with the green man thongs. I've never understood that one. That's the last thing I would want to see.

The best way to educate less sophisticated people is with physical violence?

Barring an Algernon boost...it often is. If we had more broken noses we might have fewer gun shot deaths.

Personally I support reinstating the dueling code.

You must have just seen Hamilton

I don't do musicals, though I am rather fanatical in my love of Alexander Hamilton.

Sometimes I resent my parents naming me Aaron.

oh, please...being 'less sophisticated' is not what the problem is.

anyone with an IQ over 50 should be able to understand that you don't interfere with professional athletes while they're on the job.

it's too bad that the spectator's complete lack of situational awareness and respect for the race got him a 'souvenir'...now he can show the vid to all his friends and be a celebrity.

hope he at least got a pounding headache from Froome's love tap.

Or roots, that was a pretty bloody scene. Actually the whole movie was.

Crowding the riders is not cool. Taking it in your own hands by escalation is not either, this is the tours fault. If that were here where everyone is sue happy, he would be at risk of charges and more than a fine. Not saying it would be successful, but would not be fun to deal with.

The circus atmosphere is why many people go but better guidance needs to be enforced.