Teams in the Tour de France are expressing concern as the world’s most famous cycling competition moves into France, where five days of rioting has left a path of destruction.
The 110th running of the race launched in Bilbao, Spain this weekend, and is due to pedal into France on Monday, where they will face uncertainty as the nation continues to be wracked by violence over the fatal police shooting of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk outside Paris last week.
“The context is different than usual,” said Adrien Petit, a rider for French team Intermarche-Wanty Gobert. “Every morning I check the news to see what happened overnight.”
Organizers have kept riders in a bubble about the unrest in the Republic. But French athletes have been particularly keen on keeping up with the events.
“Obviously we’re concerned,” said Philippe Mauduit, sports director for French team Groupama FDJ. “We can’t be insensitive to what’s been happening but there’s not much we can do.
“We wait for information from organizers, from law enforcement and we will do what they tell us to do,” he said. “The organizers did not even mention it at the team meeting. It’s radio silence from them.
“Maybe they don’t have a solution themselves or any information,” Mauduit added. “We’ll adapt.”
The protests were sparked by Nahel’s police shooting death Tuesday, a Muslim delivery driver who was killed during a traffic stop in the Parish suburb of Nanterre.
French officials said some 45,000 cops have been deployed to try to quell the nationwide unrest, which has seen at least 3,000 protesters arrested during violent clashes with police and gendarmes.
Merzouk was laid to rest on Saturday, after which his grandmother pleaded for peace.
“I’m telling them to stop,” she said. “We want things calm.”
Police said more than 700 rioters were arrested overnight Saturday into Sunday alone, with 45 cops injured in the confrontations — down from over 1,300 the prior night.
But despite signs that the violence may be slowly subsiding, some Tour de France riders said they remain cautious as they pedal into uncertainty.
“I hope that when we arrive in the big cities nothing serious will happen,” said AG2R Citroen team rider Aurelien Paret Peintre. “Let’s see how it evolves.”
With Post wires
