Share this Story: Tour de France riders delayed after being sprayed with chemical during farmers' protest Tour de France riders delayed after being sprayed with chemical during farmers' protest The stage later featured separate solo crashes by two race leaders and a second stage win in this year's event by Julian Alaphilippe Photo by Peter Dejong / AP Article content BAGNERES-DE-LUCHON, France — Tear gas in riders’ eyes. A farmers’ protest blocking the road. Two key crashes on dangerous descents. The only thing lacking from the wild 16th stage of the Tour de France on Tuesday was a shakeup in the overall standings. Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe took advantage of his downhill skills to win the first of three mountainous legs in the Pyrenees, which was briefly interrupted when police used tear gas to disperse a farmers’ protest that had blocked the road with bales of hay. The overall standings were unchanged. Geraint Thomas in the yellow jersey, second-placed Chris Froome and third-placed Tom Dumoulin all crossed together nearly nine minutes behind. The farmers’ protest occurred 30 kilometres into the 218-kilometre leg from Carcassonne to Bagneres-de-Luchon. Photo by Jeff Pachoud / AFP/Getty Images Thomas, Froome, world champion Peter Sagan and other riders were treated with eye drops due to the tear gas amid a 15-minute delay. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content “I just felt my throat and nose were burning, eyes were burning afterward,” Froome said. “But I think quite a lot of riders were in a similar situation. “Thankfully the effect didn’t last long,” Froome added. “It was just a temporary thing with stinging and burning.” Photo by Marco Bertorello / AFP/Getty Images It was the latest in a series of incidents involving spectators during this year’s race, with Team Sky riders being pushed and spat on and 2014 champion Vincenzo Nibali having his back broken in a crash when a fan caught their camera strap on his handlebars. “We feel safe. Obviously on some of the climbs not everyone’s our fans but we don’t feel threatened,” Thomas said. “It’s hard in cycling when you’re just on the open road. It’s not like football or something. Everyone’s doing the best they can and hopefully everyone can just behave and let us race.” Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content The small group of farmers from the Aude department were protesting a planned reduction of European Union funding, according to French authorities. Photo by Marco Bertorello / AFP/Getty Images “We are not going to lock the riders in a stadium or a tennis court,” Tour director Christian Prudhomme said. “People should not block the road, no matter what causes they are fighting for.” Thomas remained 1 minute, 39 seconds ahead of four-time champion Froome, with Dumoulin 1:50 back. Photo by Jeff Pachoud / AFP/Getty Images Alaphilippe took the lead when Adam Yates crashed on a technical descent in the finale. “I knew the finale was tricky,” Alaphilippe said. “I was sad for (Yates) but it could have happened to me, too, because I took a lot of risks. … I went all out for 220 kilometres today. I’m exhausted.” Belgian rider Philippe Gilbert was leading when he crashed earlier in the stage while descending from the Col de Portet-d’Aspet, hitting a wall and flipping off his bike spectacularly but avoiding major injury. It was the same descent where Italian rider Fabio Casartelli died during the 1995 Tour. “I thought I was broken everywhere,” said Gilbert, a teammate of Alaphilippe’s on the Quick-Step team. “But I ended up more or less OK.” Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Photo by Jeff Pachoud / AFP/Getty Images Alaphilippe also won the 10th stage and is wearing the polka-dot jersey of the mountains classification leader. Yates led Alaphilippe by 20 seconds at the top of the Col du Portillon climb 10 kilometres from the finish but lost control with 6K to go, falling to the pavement on a left turn and sliding across the road. “You never know what’s coming up on some of these corners,” Yates said. “There was a bit of downforce or something and I came down, that’s all there is to it. “Morale’s pretty damaged right now. When you come so close to winning a stage of the Tour, it’s pretty devastating,” added Yates, who won the young rider classification in the Tour two years ago. Photo by Jeff Pachoud / AFP/Getty Images Alaphilippe, who was already gaining ground on Yates, quickly passed the British rider and had time to celebrate before the finish, smiling at the crowd and shaking his head in disbelief. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Spanish rider Gorka Izaguirre finished second, 15 seconds behind, and Yates crossed third with the same time. The race remains in the Pyrenees on Wednesday for what could be the most challenging stage of the Tour, a 65-kilometre leg from Bagneres-de Luchon to Saint-Lary-Soulan Col du Portet that features three grueling climbs, including an uphill finish — and hardly a stretch of flat road. “It’s going to be massively decisive,” Thomas said. “That last climb is possibly the toughest climb in the Tour — 16 kilometres, 2,200 metres (altitude). There’s definitely going to be some splits.” — with files from Samuel Petrequin and Ciaran Fahey Share this article in your social network Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Shopping essentials Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. NP Posted Sign up to receive the daily top stories from the National Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. Email Address There was an error, please provide a valid email address. By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300 Thanks for signing up! A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it please check your junk folder. The next issue of NP Posted will soon be in your inbox. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again Trending<doc-sep>Fourt-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. Bales of hay blocked the road 30 kilometers 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. BAGNERES DE-LUCHON, France (AP) — Chris Froome was among riders whose eyes needed treatment for tear gas when police intervened to disperse farmers protesting against funding cuts by disrupting the Tour de France on Tuesday. Advertisement Stage 16 resumed after a 15-minute delay. According to French media, the small group of farmers from the local Ariege department were protesting against the reduction of European Union funding. This Tour has been marred by incidents. 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. Froome sits second in the general classification, 1 minute, 39 seconds behind Sky teammate Thomas. Jeff PACHOUD/AFP/Getty Images Marco BERTORELLO/AFP/Getty Images<doc-sep>
BAGNERES DE-LUCHON, France (AP) — Four-time champion Chris Froome was among riders whose eyes needed treatment for tear gas when a farmers' protest interrupted the 16th stage of the Tour de France on Tuesday. Bales of hay blocked the road 30 kilometers into the 218-kilometer leg from Carcassonne to Bagneres De-Luchon. Tour organizers said police used tear gas to disperse the protesters as the peloton approached. 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. The stage resumed after a 15-minute delay. According to French media, the small group of farmers from the local Ariege department protested against the reduction of European Union funding. This Tour has been marred by incidents. 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. Froome sits second in the general classification, 1 minute, 39 seconds behind Sky teammate Thomas.