{"id":2062190,"date":"2026-07-25T12:27:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T09:27:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2062190"},"modified":"2026-07-25T12:27:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T09:27:58","slug":"all-of-unsafe-alpe-dhuez-should-have-barriers-peloton-vents-shock-and-frustration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2062190","title":{"rendered":"All of Unsafe Alpe D\u2019Huez Should Have Barriers: Peloton Vents Shock and Frustration"},"content":{"rendered":"
Every time the Tour de France comes up Alpe d\u2019Huez, it is walking a tightrope between the reward of entertaining sport and the risk of serious rider injury.<\/p>\n
As Tadej Poga\u010dar raced to victory, a bloodied Einer Rubio abandoned the race with 20 stitches in his face after riding into the back of a team car. It was seemingly forced to brake for a fallen spectator.<\/p>\n
There were more bad news stories from stage 19\u2018s centerpiece. Remco Evenepoel complained of accelerations shut down by race motorbike traffic threading the needle through the tunnel of fans.<\/p>\n
Contenders having to brake on the way up, forced to slow and stop behind race traffic or stationary team cars. Hundreds of close calls and fans with feet run over. Spectators climbing all over accredited vehicles.<\/p>\n
Alpe d\u2019Huez might have resonated with the approximate 500,000 on the legendary mountain and the wider watching cycling world, but many of those riding up in the peloton experienced both awe and safety concerns.<\/p>\n
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From the front to the back of the race, competitors experienced delays, including Jayco Alula sprinter Pascal Ackermann.<\/p>\n
German sprinter \u2018pushed\u2019 off the bike<\/h2>\nFans get up close and personal with a car on the climb up Alpe d\u2019Huez. (BELGA PHOTO DAVID PINTENS (Photo by DAVID PINTENS \/ BELGA MAG \/ Belga \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Ackermann explained to Velo <\/i>that as he rode past a fan, he turned back into his path: \u201cI don\u2019t know if it was on purpose or he just wanted to move back because there were a lot of spectators around but he pushed me off the bike \u2013 nearly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was not crashing, but I was quite shocked and could just about stay on the bike.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
The German sprinter sees improving Alpe d\u2019Huez safety as a problem be separated into two parts: the GC riders who need space and to see where to ride and those in the back enjoying the atmosphere.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was a super nice experience and atmosphere with all the crowds cheering,\u201d Ackermann added. \u201cI had two little problems: one with a car, once with a spectator.<\/p>\n
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\u201cBut that\u2019s one spectator out of a million making some shit.\u201d<\/p>\n
What could make the HC history-maker safer, then?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was actually not the people, it was more a problem with the cars because they couldn\u2019t pass so they got stopped sometimes and we got stopped behind them.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo maybe we could think about having motorbikes up there. I don\u2019t know what else could change. In general, we like spectators and the atmosphere \u2013 that\u2019s why we are cyclists.\u201d<\/p>\n
Movistar hardman: Barrier the whole of Alpe d\u2019Huez<\/h2>\nN\u00e9lson Oliveira, driving the pace for Movistar on day three of the Tour, is pro barriers on Alpe d\u2019Huez. (Photo by Tim de Waele\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Movistar veteran N\u00e9lson Oliveira, on the cusp of setting a record for successive grand tour finishes without abandoning, was impressed by the crowds.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve climbed it a few times and this year was much more people than previous years. In the end, I had bad news about Einer. But anyway, it is what it is,\u201d he said of his teammate.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt is not really [safe],\u201d he said when asked by Velo<\/i>. The 37-year-old struck upon the core dichotomy: an unqualified atmosphere meets lack of security.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want the crowd and the support, it\u2019s not their fault, but anyway, it is what it is. I think some riders spoke a few days before that they didn\u2019t feel safe on the climb because of all the people.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe in the future, put barriers on all of Alpe d\u2019Huez. I know it\u2019s hard but I think it\u2019s a good idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frustration at accelerating and braking<\/h2>\n
The bunch appears divided on that solution. While Tom Pidcock told NOS<\/em> yesterday that he is against that, two-time Tour stage winner Magnus Cort shared Oliveira\u2019s view this morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it [barriering the climb] would help,\u201d he told Velo <\/i>and Dutch media.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sitting and racing up,\u201d he said, implying he is normally not at the front of the group. \u201cBut I think it\u2019s very frustrating if you\u2019re attacking and just getting caught behind a climb, going full and having to slow down.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Talking to WielerFlits,<\/i> Visma-Lease a Bike sports director Marc Reef was another who agreed with putting barriers on all of Alpe d\u2019Huez so \u201cthe riders in front can have a proper race.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened today cannot continue,\u201d he told the Dutch outlet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were completely stationary several times with the team cars, while the group behind was getting closer.\u201d<\/p>\n
A dream for fans, a nightmare for unlucky riders<\/h2>\n
\u201cFor the fans it is fantastic,\u201d Reef continued. \u201cOn television it probably looked fantastic as well. But for the sport, it is no longer possible like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Can the Tour organization practically barrier Alpe d\u2019Huez? It would need 27.5 kilometers \u2013 the climb\u2019s length of 13.75 on both sides of the road \u2013 of protective metal, as well as hundreds more security or gendarmerie manpower to enforce it. That comes at a big price.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a conundrum: nobody wants to lose the magic and chills that Alpe d\u2019Huez gives.<\/p>\n
But nobody wants blood on their bikes (like Rubio) \u2013 or their hands \u2013 in the future either.<\/p>\n
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One thing seems certain: when the Tour de France returns to the mythical Alpe d\u2019Huez, the status quo<\/em> will not be enough.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Z8A_4739-scaled.jpg”] Andy McGrath Updated July 25, 2026 12:50PM Every time the Tour de France comes up Alpe d\u2019Huez, it is walking a tightrope between the reward of entertaining sport and the risk of serious rider injury. As Tadej Poga\u010dar raced to victory, a bloodied Einer Rubio abandoned the race with 20 stitches in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-2062190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2062190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062190\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2062190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2062190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2062190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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