Tour de France spectator arrested after throwing chips at Pogačar and Vingegaard, will be questioned by police today
Report in French newspaper Le Parisien states that man spent night in cell after 'a very drunken afternoon'
![Tadej Pogačar rides through the crowds on stage 14 of the Tour de France](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/5yXc27AKDUTgFUWan5dVaN-320-80.png)
The Tour de France spectator who threw chips at Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard on the climb to Pla d’Adet during stage 14 has reportedly been arrested for “aggravated violence” and is due to be questioned by police today.
As great crowds welcomed the top GC riders in Saturday’s final, the ‘fan’ soured the atmosphere as he threw the contents of his chip packet into the faces of the favourites. This led stage winner Pogačar to shake his head in the moments following and Vingegaard to question why someone would come to a bike race to do this speaking post-stage.
Le Parisien reported that the man was quickly taken into custody after he repeated his offence to Pogačar on Visma’s leader Vingegaard inside the final few kilometres of the climb. However, they could not question him yesterday evening as they waited for him to sober up.
“He was with a group of very nice friends, cycling fans, like us. We got to know each other well, talked about everything, cycling, Brittany and played shuffleboard. But he had a very drunken afternoon,” said an eyewitness to the French newspaper.
The eyewitness was as confused at the man in question’s behaviour as the riders and commentators alike, with EF Education-Easypost manager Jonathan Vaughters later questioning on Eurosport “Are you there to be a cycling fan, do you love the sport?”.
However, according to the witness, the offending spectator was quickly and thankfully taken away to prevent him from interfering with any of the other riders on the final climb.
“[A nearby police officer] pushed him off the road quite abruptly and a police car arrived behind the barriers to take him away less than five minutes later,” said the eyewitness, with friends of the offender equally as confused.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
"The gesture did not seem premeditated. After the riders had passed, his friends were surprised. They were clearly not at their first Tour but it was the first time he had done something stupid like that."
Adam Hansen, president of the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA), the rider's union, announced on X (formerly twitter), that “the CPA will take legal action against this guy with pleasure due to what he did to both Pogacar and Vingegaard. This is disrespectful and will not be tolerated.”
Hansen later thanked French police for their quick response having seen that the spectator had been arrested.
"We have information that the Gendarmerie have already found and arrested the man who did this act and spent the last night in jail," said Hansen on social media. "We thank the Gendarmerie for their fast great work, and this is a sign not to do this to the cyclist. Please be responsible and respect the riders."
We have information that the Gendarmerie have already found and arrested the man who did this act and spent the last night in jail. We thank the Gendarmerie for their fast great work, and this is a sign not to do this to the cyclist. Please be responsible and respect the riders. https://t.co/n9zqBwgbWsJuly 14, 2024
Get unlimited access to all of our coverage of the Tour de France - including breaking news and analysis reported by our journalists on the ground from every stage of the race as it happens and more. Find out more
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/j0riqebpsw1715769462.png)
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/j0riqebpsw1715769462.png)
Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
James Moultrie is a gold-standard NCTJ journalist who joined Cyclingnews as a News Writer in 2023 after originally contributing as a freelancer for eight months, during which time he also wrote for Eurosport, Rouleur and Cycling Weekly. Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert, Lizzie Deignan and Wout van Aert. Outside of cycling, he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby, football, cricket, and American Football to name a few.