Cyclists rest for Tour finale

Associated Press

CARCASSONNE, France

The Tour de France paused for a day in this medieval fortress town just north of the Pyrenees mountains to give the 170 remaining riders a chance to rest up for the race’s final 912 kilometers (567 miles) beginning Tuesday.

Riders relaxed, ate, met with reporters and otherwise found ways to recover from the 2,752 kilometers (1,710 miles) that they’ve raced since the start on July 5 in Leeds, England.

The last six stages include three heavy days of climbing in the Pyrenees and take in four lung-busting summits that are rated “beyond category” — the hardest they come.

Tour riders have had enough with fans along the road stepping in their way and potentially causing dangerous accidents as the athletes whiz by. Europcar team veteran Thomas Voeckler let loose on one fan during a stage last week, giving the bystander a dressing down he’s sure not to soon forget.

In a video of of the scene captured by a fan and posted on the website of French sports daily L’Equipe, Voeckler is seen braking to a stop along the roadside, then turning back and angrily shouting “Hey! Come here! Come!”

A voice off camera repeats “Sorry!” several times, to which Voeckler answers “Have you ever ridden a bike?” Then the popular French rider, famous for wearing the yellow jersey for 10 stages in both 2004 and 2011, slowly pushes off and accelerates back up the road.

Voeckler is in 53rd place, almost an hour and 42 minutes behind leader Vincenzo Nibali of Italy.

Earlier in the Tour, several similar incidents were captured by television cameras, when fans looking into their camera phones rather than watching the race caused a series of crashes and near misses.