Tour de France riders sprayed with tear gas amid protest by farmers



BAGNERES-DE-LUCHON, France — Chris Froome was among a group of riders whose eyes needed treatment when police intervened with tear gas to disperse farmers protesting funding cuts by disrupting the Tour de France on Tuesday.

Bales of hay blocked the road 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) into the 218-kilometer stage from Carcassonne to Bagneres-de-Luchon. Tour organizers said police used tear gas to disperse the protesters as the peloton approached.

Four-time champion Froome, race leader Geraint Thomas, and world champion Peter Sagan were among those affected by the chemical. Froome was treated with eye drops and Sagan poured water over his face to clean his eyes.

A gendarme (L) sprays tear gas at protesters (R, some hidden) as other gendarmes remove haystacks from the route, during a farmers' protest who attempted to block the stage's route, during the 16th stage of the 105th edition of the Tour de France cyc



Stage 16 resumed after a 15-minute delay.

Tour director Christian Prudhomme condemned the farmers' action and demanded more respect for riders.

"The road should remain free, we are not going to lock the riders in a stadium or on a tennis court," he said. "The riders' job is extremely dangerous, they are taking risks every day, people should not block the road, no matter what causes they are fighting for."

Riders react after riding through tear gas during a farmers' protest who attempted to block the stage's route, during the 16th stage of the 105th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, between Carcassonne and Bagneres-de-Luchon, southwestern Fra



Belgian classics specialist Greg Van Avermaet said race organizers made a good decision by neutralizing the stage, allowing the peloton to resume competing after three kilometers.

"I was not affected because I was not in the first 10 of the group," he said. "I heard some of the guys had problems so I thought it was a good decision to stop and wait and bring everything together."

Gendarmes detain a protesting farmer as the pack rides behind during the 16th stage of the 105th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, between Carcassonne and Bagneres-de-Luchon, southwestern France, on July 24, 2018. - The race was neutralized



According to French media, the small group of farmers from the local Ariege department made the intervention to protest the reduction of European Union funding.

This Tour has been marred by incidents.

Riders of the pack wait for the race to resume, after General Director of the Tour de France, France's Christian Prudhomme (Front R) halted it, following a farmers' protest who attempted to block the stage's route, during the 16th stage of the 105th



Race organizers have struggled to deal with angry fans protesting Froome's participation. After fans threw flares at riders in the climb to the ski resort of Alpe d'Huez, Tour organizers banned the use of smoke flares for the rest of the race.

Froome raced all season under the cloud of a potential ban for using twice the permitted level of salbutamol during his victory at the Spanish Vuelta in September. He was cleared only just before the Tour. He said he has been repeatedly spat at since the race started, and spectators have punched him and tried to make him fall off his bike.

Riders sit after General Director of the Tour de France, France's Christian Prudhomme (Rear L) halted the race, following a farmers' protest who attempted to block the stage's route, during the 16th stage of the 105th edition of the Tour de France cy



Froome remained second in the general classification, 1 minute, 39 seconds behind Sky teammate Thomas.