Cyclist Turns Into Runner After Tour de France Crash

Here's something you don't see everyday: the reigning Tour de France winner ditching his bike and attempting to continue the race on foot. The Guardian reports Chris Froome's bicycle was damaged in a crash on Mount Ventoux Thursday, forcing him to hoof it up the hill until a replacement could arrive. "I just started running," the British cyclist tells the Telegraph. The Guardian calls the incident a "farce," while Deadspin is just impressed Froome could run up a hill in cycling shoes, which make even walking difficult. The Tour director tells the Guardian it's an "incident that might have never happened before in 100 years." And while continuing the race on foot is "against the rules, technically"—according to Deadspin—waiting for a new bike "could have cost Froome minutes and his entire Tour."

Froome, who was in the lead, and two other cyclists crashed when a television motorbike suddenly stopped only half a mile or so from the stage's finish line, the BBC reports. Fans had encroached on the track, giving the cyclists no room to get around the motorbike. The bicycles belonging to the two other riders were still usable, but Froome's was run over by a second motorbike. Froome ran for about 45 seconds until his replacement bike arrived. That bike was too small and had the wrong pedals, and a second replacement had to be brought. The entire ordeal cost Froome 1 minute and 21 seconds and dropped him to sixth place. However, after an hour or so of deliberation, the Tour decided to give that time back to Froome, putting him back in the lead. "It was the right decision," Froome says. (More Tour de France stories.)