The big spill was caused by a fan who brandished a cardboard sign and leaned into the path of veteran rider Tony Martin, who fell off his bike and took many others down in his slipstream.
The mass return of Tour de France fans coincided with chaos and crashes while world champion Julian Alaphilippe avoided most of the carnage to win the opening stage with a punchy attack on Saturday.
The Frenchman was involved in the first pileup caused by a fan that took down a large part of the peloton but he remained on his bike.
The world's biggest cycling event returning after COVID-19 pandemic for the first time had many excited.
Throughout the day, enthusiastic fans took to the streets of picturesque villages and thousands of them lined the verdant roads of the Brittany countryside. But some were also careless.
The first big spill was caused by a fan who brandished a cardboard sign and leaned into the path of veteran rider Tony Martin, who fell off his bike and took many others down in his slipstream. The Tour cautioned fans to “respect the safety of the riders” and “Don’t risk everything for a photo or to get on television!”
The second pileup involved dozens of competitors — including four-time Tour champion Chris Froome — riding at full speed near the finish.
“It was stressful," former Tour champion Geraint Thomas said. “I was just concentrating on staying on my bike basically. Happy to get through it."
The Tour de France is broadcasted live in India on Eurosports channel.
