Drunk fan who threw crisps at Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard faces action from cycling union

Race leader Tadej Pogacar had crisps thrown at him by a roadside spectator during Saturday’s Tour de France stage

A drunk spectator who threw crisps at Tour de France rivals Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard has been released from jail, but will still face action from the riders’ union according to its president Adam Hansen.

The 32-year-old man, who was bare-chested and holding a flag of Brittany, was arrested for “aggravated violence while in a drunk state” after throwing crisps at the Tour’s leading duo around 2km from the finish of stage 14 on Pla d’Adet on Saturday. He was detained by police shortly afterwards and taken away in a police car.

“He was with a group of very nice friends, cycling fans, like us,” a man named Alexis, who was roadside near the suspected individual, told Le Parisien. “We got to know each other well, talked about everything, cycling, Brittany and played shuffleboard. But he had a very drunken afternoon.”

Hansen, the president of the Professional Cyclists’ Association (CPA), said on X after Saturday’s stage that the CPA would take legal action “with pleasure” against the spectator who threw the crisps.

Although the man was released from jail on Sunday, with no charges filed, Hansen told Telegraph Sport the CPA still planned to take action “for sure” in order to act as a deterrent to others.

The CPA has pursued similar action in the past, notably after Tony Martin was taken out by a female spectator holding up a sign saying ‘Allez Omi-Opi’ to the cameras at the 2021 race, triggering a chain reaction which took out a huge group of riders. The CPA asked for one euro compensation on that occasion.

“We will pursue legal action for sure,” Hansen told Telegraph Sport on Sunday. “We want to show a sign that even if people are not caught by police there will be legal action.”

Pogacar produces extraordinary displayOn Sunday, a spectator running alongside Pogacar and Vingegaard on the final climb lost a flip-flop which flew past Pogacar’s wheel.

It did not put off the Slovenian, who having won Saturday’s stage by 39 seconds produced an extraordinary display of climbing on Sunday, racing away from Vingegaard on the final ascent to Plateau de Beille in the Pyrenees.

Vingegaard’s team Visama Lease-a-Bike had tried to make the race hard in an effort to crack Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) but the Slovenian was too strong, waiting until 5.3km remaining of the final climb to make his move and then streaking clear to win by over a minute. So fast was the climb ridden it put a number of the sprinters in danger of missing the time cut, including Britain’s Mark Cavendish who just made it with two minutes to spare.

Pogacar now leads the general classification by 3min 9sec from Vingegaard, with Evenepoel at 5min 19sec. No one else is within 10 minutes of the yellow jersey.

Pogacar was not put off by spectators on Sunday as he took control of the Tour de France – Jerome Delay/AP

The peloton now enjoys a second rest day on Monday before the final week which culminates with a time trial from Monaco to Nice on Sunday. The race does not end in Paris this year due to the Olympics.

Pogacar admitted he was now in firm control of the race. “I would never have imagined this kind of outcome at the end of the second week,” the two-time winner said at the finish. “It was a super hard day. Usually I struggle in the heat but the team did a great job keeping me cool. Yeah, an incredible day.

Asked about Visma’s efforts to make the race hard, he added: “They decided to control today and make a hard pace on the climbs but I was never worried. I kept myself cool and hydrating and eating enough so when we came to the bottom of the last climb, I was close to my limit when Jonas tried to drop me but I could see he was also on the limit.

“When he tried the last time, I could see he was struggling so I attacked. Now it’s looking like a really good comfortable lead.”

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