Tour de France teams ask fans to behave better after mass pile-up in 15th stage #Tour #France #teams #fans #behave #mass #pileup #15th #stage

SAINT-GERVAIS MONT-BLANC, France (AP) — Tour de France overall leader Jonas Vingegaard is calling on fans to behave better at cycling’s biggest race after another mass crash marred the 15th stage on Sunday.

“I’d like to tell the spectators to enjoy the race and be there to cheer for us without standing on the road or pouring beers on us,” Vingegaard said. “Please, just enjoy the race.”

The Danish rider leads Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia by only 10 seconds with the race about to enter its final week.

Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the best young rider's white jersey, sprint towards the finish line of the fifteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 179 kilometers (111 miles) with start in Les Gets Les Portes du Soleil and finish in Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc, France, Sunday, July 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Jonas Vingegaard has kept intact his 10-second overall lead in the Tour de France as Dutch veteran Wout Poels soloed to victory after a tough trek in the Alps with a mountaintop finish.

Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, and Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the best young rider's white jersey, climb Joux Plane pass during the fourteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 152 kilometers (94.5 miles) with start in Annemasse and finish in Morzine Les Portes du Soleil, France, Saturday, July 15, 2023. (Bernard Papon/Pool Photo via AP)

Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard and two-time winner Tadej Pogacar could not separate themselves after a dramatic day for the Tour de France in the Alps.

Poland's Michal Kwiatkowski crosses the finish line to win the thirteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 138 kilometers (86 miles) with start in Chatillon-sur-Chalaronne and finish on Grand Colombier pass, France, Friday, July 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Former world champion Michal Kwiatkowski has soloed to the top of the Grand Colombier mountain on the Tour de France and Tadej Pogacar has cut a little more time off Jonas Vingegaard’s lead in the fight for the yellow jersey.

FILE - UCI President David Lappartient, right, speaks to the media about the fight against technological fraud during a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, March 21, 2018. Female transgender athletes who transitioned after male puberty will no longer be able to compete in women's races, world cycling governing body the UCI said Friday, July 14, 2023. Despite the ban, Lappartient said “the UCI would like to reaffirm that cycling — as a competitive sport, leisure activity or means of transport — is open to everyone, including transgender people, whom we encourage like everyone else to take part in our sport."(Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP, File)

Female transgender athletes who transitioned after male puberty will no longer be able to compete in women’s races.

The incident, which involved around two dozen riders, led to appeals from several teams at the Tour.

“Please be careful. So that the party remains a party for the riders, but also for you. You don’t need a cell phone to create mind-blowing memories,” the Cofidis team said amid unverified reports that the spectator who caused the crash was taking a selfie.

The Ineos Grenadiers team said “please give the riders room to race.”

A day after a big pile-up forced several riders to abandon, the latest accident occurred after 52 kilometers (32 miles) when a spectator on the side of the road inadvertently touched American rider Sepp Kuss — a key teammate of Vingegaard — and sent him to the ground.

Fans gathering on the sides of roads and in villages as riders pass by is part of the tradition — and charm — of the Tour, but many spectators can take too many risks, including when they run alongside riders in mountain ascents.

Jumbo-Visma said Dylan van Baarle and Nathan van Hooydonck were among those who hit the tarmac on Sunday. Vingegaard was riding close to his teammates but escaped unscathed.

“The team felt pretty good today, although we of course had this crash that affected some of my teammates,” Vingegaard said.

Organizers also asked fans to “pay attention to the riders” after the incident which did not lead to any withdrawals.

Two years ago, a spectator brandishing a large cardboard sign while leaning into the path of oncoming riders led to a massive pile-up during the opening stage.

Dutch veteran Wout Poels soloed to victory Sunday after the tough trek in the Alps.