Incident involving Ratcliffe's team: INEOS car hits spectator at Tour de France
Jan Novak
Dailysports's expert
A troubling incident unfolded during stage 14 of the Tour de France: a technical support car from the INEOS Grenadiers struck a spectator on one of the mountain climbs. The fan was standing on the course, filming the action on their phone, when the following team car, moving at low speed, collided with them from behind the riders.
The incident took place on the ascent to the Col de Peyresourde, around 200 meters from the summit. At the time of the collision, the car was escorting INEOS rider Thymen Arensman, who eventually won the stage.
The condition of the spectator is still unknown. Race organizers told Reuters they had no information on the incident, while representatives of the INEOS Grenadiers declined to comment. Notably, the INEOS Grenadiers team is owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is also a minority shareholder of Manchester United.
Oliver Cookson, the British team's sporting director, was fined $6,200 (5,000 Swiss francs) and shown a yellow card by Tour de France commissaires for "behavior endangering the safety of spectators," according to the official report.
