... but you know, it's a tour of France, not an Olympic-regulated or arena sport. Is it unfortunate that things happen that cause injury and so forth? Of course. But it is a ROAD race with tradition, and the crowd-- in all its forms-- is part of it. To people new to watching it, I'm sure it all seems quite odd, but to old hands-- it's "Le Tour"! If you listen to the comments by Bob Roll, Phil Liggett, and Paul Sherwen-- all experienced riders and Tour habitues-- you'll hear a certain fatalistic tone when these things occur.

Vive Le Tour!

~S~

PS, a number of amateur and proferssional cyclists are killed each year, not in the Tour but in training rides, by motorists, sometimes running them off the road on purpose. Compared to the reality of road cycling, the Tour is a safe place.