The Tour de France was thrown into chaos as officials were forced to throw climate change protestors off of the road during the 10th stage of the race.
The stage from Morzine to Megeve came to a halt with 35km left to go as the route was blocked by a line of protestors sitting and laying across the track.
The demonstrators from the Derniere Renovation movement were chained by their necks and set off red flares as they had to be physically removed.
The activists made a statement via their official Twitter account, saying: “The world to which politicians are sending us is a world in which the Tour de France will no longer be able to exist.
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“As the government does not care when we talk about the climate crisis, we must come and take over the Tour de France to refocus attention on what matters for our survival.
"We must make our government react, which is leading us to the slaughterhouse.
“We would have preferred to do otherwise, but that's all we have left. The good news is that everything can still change.”
Cyclist Alberto Bettiol, who was leading the pack at the time, was filmed dodging the protestors along the road.
He had a 32-second lead when the race had to be brought to a halt, however, riders were assured the same gaps would be maintained once the race started again.
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There was a mass feeling of anger among cyclists and organisers, with Sir Bradley Wiggins telling Eurosport viewers: “It really was going off.
"It was quite crazy. A lot of people getting quite angry, some of the directeur sportifs got out the cars, stuck a boot in.”
Tour de France general director commented on the situation and said he believed the protests happened at the race due to the prestige of the event.
He told the television show Velo Club: “It was unexpected. We know that on the route of the Tour de France, which carries great reasonance, it happens occasionally.
“We were there for a few minutes, then happily the stage carried on as normal. The race situation was very clear with the breakaway a long way ahead.”
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According to Reuters, he had earlier commented on the incident, saying: “These things happen, it’s the price of success.”
Climate protests at major sporting events have been commonplace over the past few months.
The Derniere Renovation group claimed responsibility for a demonstration at the French Open, with a protestor jumping on the court and tying themselves to the net.
Whilst a group from Just Stop Oil climbed onto the raceway at the British Grand Prix and forced F1 drivers to desperately swerve out of the way to avoid hitting them.
Featured Image Credit: Derniere Renovation/libre de droit. Derniere Renovation/opaisdociclismo.Topics: Sport, Global Warming
