A protest by local farmers brought stage 16 of the Tour de France to a halt as bales of hay were thrown on to the road on the route from Carcassonne to Bagneres-de-Luchon and police tear gas blew into the faces of some of the riders.
Photo: AFP
The gas was used to disperse the protesters, but it ended up blowing in the direction of the peloton, which led to the race being stopped at the 187km-to-go point.
The race continued after the brief hiatus.
Yellow jersey holder Geraint Thomas and world champion Peter Sagan were among the riders rinsing their eyes as the stage was stopped for 15 minutes.
It is not the first time that protesters have interrupted a prominent race, the most memorable incident happening in the 1984 Paris-Nice, when French great Bernard Hinault punched one of the demonstrators.
The last time a Tour stage was blocked by a demonstration was in 2004.
Julian Alaphilippe's descending skills made the difference as the Frenchman claimed his second victory in this year's Tour.
The Quick-Step Floors rider, who already prevailed in the 10th stage in Le Grand Bornand, whizzed past Adam Yates six kilometres from the line after the Briton had hit the asphalt in a left-hand curve in the final descent.
A gendarme sprays tear gas at protesters as other gendarmes remove haystacks from the route, during a farmers' protest blocking the stage's route. Photo: AFP
Spain's Gorka Izagirre took second place and Yates finished third, 15 seconds behind.
Thomas still leads his Team Sky mate and defending champion Chris Froome by 1 minute, 39 seconds and Dutchman Tom Dumoulin by 1 minutes, 50 seconds going into Wednesday's 17th stage, a brutal 65-km, up-and-down trek from Bagneres-de-Luchon to Saint-Lary-Soulan.
Downhills were tricky and former world champion Philippe Gilbert went spectacularly over a low stone wall in the descent from the Col du Portet d'Aspet. The Belgian got back on his bike after disappearing in the ravine for a couple of minutes.
It was in the same descent that Italian Fabio Casartelli crashed and died in the 1995 Tour de France.
"It's pure happiness after a day of suffering," said Alaphilippe, who tightened his grip on the polka dot jersey for the mountains classification.
French Julian Alaphilippe of Quick-Step Floors wearing the red polka-dot jersey celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the 16th stage of the 105th edition of the Tour de France cycling race. Photo: AFP
Alaphilippe fought hard to get his place in the day's large breakaway and he produced his effort at the right moment to be the second rider to reach the top of the Col du Portillon, 20 seconds behind Yates.
He was gaining time in the descent when Yates went down.
"I knew the last kilometres of the stage. I'm sad for Yates who crashed but it could have happened to me. I took a lot of risks. It's bike racing," Alaphilippe said.
Sagan virtually secured a record-equalling sixth green jersey for the points classification, which he will officially wrap up if he reaches Paris. He leads Norway's Alexander Kristoff by 282 points with 270 still up for grabs.
- Reuters
