The selfie craze has created a lot of debate during the Tour de France Grand Départ in the UK, with many riders expressing concern that people taking photos have their backs to the riders and are not aware enough of the potential danger.
While the pavé on tomorrow's stage 5 of the Tour de France was flagged by many teams as a major danger before the event started, the riders have been hit by another constant danger in recent days; the selfie.
Crowds have flocked to the stages of the Grand Départ in the UK. And while Britain has put on an absolutely fantastic show, the crowds have been huge and many spectators have stood with their backs to the riders while taking photos of themselves as the peloton passes over their shoulder.
Advertisement
There have been a number of spills, with Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing) coming down on stage 2 when a rider hit somebody on the side of the road taking as phot0. And on yesterday's stage 3 into London, a Team Sky rider at the head of the peloton hit another spectator.
While he did not fall off, the ripple sent back through the bunch took out Andy Schleck (Trek). The cameras showing him on deck also picked out the spectator who'd just been hit by the Team Sky man sprawled on the ground.
Nicolas Roche also used his Irish Independent diary to raise the issue, saying people were turning around as the head of the peloton passed to take a selfie, apparently oblivious to the near 200 men coming behind.
The problem may not be as bad when the race gets back to France.
The novelty of the Tour start in cycling-mad Great Britain brought out much bigger crowds than usual; much of them made up of people who have never seen a bike race before and are simply too inexperienced to realise the dangers involved.
However, the Tour de France organisation hasn't helped itself by encouraging people to take selfies.
Before the race began, Welcome to Yorkshire’s Gary Verity and the head of the Tour de France Christian Prudhomme were snapped in a selfie - carried here, just below.
It was then posted on the race's official twitter account with a message that read: "1st selfie of Le Tour make your own one with ~TDFselfie".
A Team Sky rider hits a spectator holding a camera or phone yesterday; the ripple caused by the impact took out Andy Schleck.
Related News
It goes without saying they never intended for spectators to put riders in danger. But with 553,000 followers and undoubtedly many of those completely new to cycling, it perhaps wasn't the best message to send out.
In some cases cycling fans have turned against people posting selfies of the race on Twitter, as in the case of the woman who took the photo above this piece.
She joked that she "nearly died" taking the photo, though insisted later she was not in the way of the riders and did not pose any danger.
And to be fair to her, the riders passing over her shoulder seem to be looking at something else on the side of the road and don't seem at all concerned about her presence.
But while most will take sensible selfies and photos as the race passes, there are clearly many inexperienced cycling fans looking for a souvenir of their day at the Tour.
And the race organisation encouraging selfies as a social media branding exercise is a move that will be regretted in hindsight.
1er selfie du 101ème Tour, envoie le tien avec #TDFselfie / 1st selfie of @letour make your own one with #TDFselfie pic.twitter.com/6wQzmj8LDR
— Le Tour de France (@letour) July 2, 2014
Topics
