Tour De France Riders Crash While Battling For A Bonus Point
The two were battling for a point toward earning the polka-dot jersey worn by the "King of the Mountain."
Saturday was the start of the Tour de France, and we didn't have to wait long for the race that has at times produced some bizarre moments to do exactly that, with the only two breakaway riders in the opening stage crashing into each other.
According to Velo, Frenchmen Benjamin Thomas and Mattéo Vercher were the only two riders to break away from the peloton, with both riders racing ahead in hopes of snagging a King of the Mountain bonus point, which is awarded to riders at the end of specified mountain climbs. The rider with the most points gets to wear a polka-dot jersey.
Y'know, like the famous yellow jersey… but polka-dotted.
Anyway, during the 184.9 km (114.89 miles) that began and ended in Lille Metropole, Thomas and Vercher were trying to score one of these King of the Mountain points. They raced along cobblestone streets, and with the finish line for the point in sight, Thomas lunged for the line.
He narrowly beat Vercher, but he also managed to wreck both of them in the process.
Ouch. Cycling crashes always look brutal, but fortunately, both fellas popped up and seemed to be no worse for wear.
Although I bet you Thomas' pride was a bit bruised after that, even though he did manage to earn himself the polka-dot jersey for the stage.
However, the two did have a problem on their hands, and that was that Peloton wasn't far behind, and after they collected themselves and got moving again, the pack caught up to them.
To his credit, Vercher didn't harbor any ill will toward Thomas after the incident and said he was just happy that it didn't end their entire Tour de France.
"I don't blame him because that's cycling, he made me fall but it could easily have been the other way round," he said, per the Tour de France website. "The most important thing is that we can both start again tomorrow, because we could easily have broken something. In any case, I'm happy to start the Tour in this frame of mind, it will bring positive energy to the team."