Fan's cardboard banner causes huge Tour de France crash

A spectator brandishing a cardboard banner knocked down most of the Tour de France peloton on Saturday, causing a huge crash on Stage 1 of the 2021 race.

The main bunch were around 40km from the finish of the opening stage at Landernau when Jumbo-Visma’s road captain Tony Martin collided with the sign, that was waved out into the road.

Martin could do nothing to get out of the way, with a thick pack of riders on his left and a grass verge on his right, and had no choice but to ride straight into the oblivious fan’s piece of cardboard.