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Sabotage strikes the Tour de France: THIRTY cyclists suffer punctures after spectator throws tacks on the road

By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 17:19 GMT, 15 July 2012 | UPDATED: 18:14 GMT, 15 July 2012

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Sabotage struck the Tour de France on Sunday as around 30 riders, including defending champion Cadel Evans, suffered punctures.

Boxes of tacks had been strewn across the road near the summit of Mur de Peguero, causing chaos among the leading peloton.
Race leader Bradley Wiggins called for the peloton to wait for the Australian rider after Evans had to stop before the final descent and wait for a new bike.
Setback: Team mechanics help Cadel Evans of Australia after tacks on the road gave him a flat tyre on the Mur de Peguere
Tour technical director Jean-Francois Pescheux said they were 'the kind of tacks you use in mattresses or carpets' and confirmed they had been thrown by a spectator.


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'There were around 50 riders together in the front peloton at the top and about 30 of them ended up with punctures,' said Pescheux. 'Some of them had three or four nails in their tyres.'
The tacks were thrown on the road at the summit of the Mur de Peguere, the second of two category one climbs on the day's 191-kilometre route from Limoux to Foix.


France's Thomas Voeckler, right, helps his teammate Pierre Rolland to change his wheel after he suffered a puncture




It's the second time a spectator has caused problems during this year's race. Last Saturday Wiggins was struck by a flare let off by demonstrators on the side of the road, suffering minor burns to his arm.
The stage was won by Spaniard Leon-Luis Sanchez in 4hrs,50mins,29secs from Peter Sagan and Frenchman Sandy Casar.
Wiggins (15th) and Evans (16th) crossed the finish line side by side, 18mins,15secs behind Sanchez.



The glory of success : Luis-Leon Sanchez celebrates as he crosses the finishing line




It left the top of the general classification unchanged and with Wiggins facing six more days' racing to keep the maillot jaune on a permanent basis as the Tour's first British winner.
Pescheux, competitions director of Tour organisers Amaury Sports Organisation, said: 'We don't know who it was. No-one saw anything.'

Before the punctures: The leading pack of riders climb the mountain roads



Wiggins said after the race, 'When 15 or 16 riders puncture at once, it becomes very apparent that something is wrong.'
'We were 17 or 18mins down. The stage is gone. I don't know why it (tacks on the road) happened, whether it was aimed at somebody or not.'


When 15 or 16 riders puncture at once, it becomes very apparent that something is wrong,' said Bradley Wi

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