Originally Posted by
Calsun
The race organizers and the towns on the tour do not want to discourage large crowds and so they expect a few crashes during each tour. The riders are expendible as with athletes in every sport in every nation.
While that may be true, most athletes accept the risks involved that are caused by injuries due to the nature of the sport. Pro cyclists know that there is a chance they could crash (just watch the first corner of today's time trial!) but having someone in the crowd unexpectedly grab your handlebar, or do something to knock you off your bike at speed and cause a massive multi-bike crash, is, IMHO, unacceptable.
It's bad enough when a motorbike gets in the way and thwarts an attack by a competitor. I wonder how many attacks are discouraged, especially on climbs, by the crowds that basically block the road ahead of the riders, and only part enough to allow one bike to pass? Imagine if a rider decided to just go for it? If he crashed into a spectator and caused injury, I bet there would be more serious repercussions.