As the battle for the breakaway raged on the run-in to the Col de Aubisque on stage 18 of the Tour de France, back at the rear of the peloton both Nils Eekhoff (Team DSM) and Jack Bauer (BikeExchange-Jayco) fell victim to two separate crashes seconds apart, both involving race motorbikes.
The New Zealander was speeding through a town on the way back to the peloton 50km into the decisive mountain stage to Hautacam when the road narrowed.
Up ahead, a UAE Team Emirates car had slowed after Eekhoff looked to fall after hitting an unsighted motorbike as a team car pulled out of his way.
Further back, a press motorbike with a passenger had attempted to squeeze into the gap alongside the UAE car on the left.
Bauer, approaching at speed behind the two vehicles, was aiming for the same gap, and was left with nowhere to go, attempting to brake at the last minute but hitting the deck after colliding with the rear of the UAE car.
He was immediately back on his feet having seemed to suffer no major injury in the crash and was caught on camera walking around by the side of the road raising his arms in frustration. Bauer could be heard saying, "my gosh, is this the first Tour de France you've driven in?" before getting back to his bike and resuming the race.
Both Eekhoff and Bauer later headed to the Tour's medical car for checks.
UCI regulations state that car and motorbike drivers must: "drive in a prudent manner to safeguard the safety of riders in the race, spectators and other vehicles". Should UCI commissaires find the drivers involved in the Eekhoff and Bauer crashes to have infringed the rules on stage 18, then punishments ranging from fines to exclusion from the race could be handed down.
