Tour de France fans spark outrage with 'disgraceful' spot they watched the race from
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- Tour de France fans were outraged after seeing the vantage point of spectators
- The second stage of the event was won by Mathieu van der Poel on Sunday
- It finished in Boulogne-sur-Mer, around 25 miles south-west of Calais
Tour de France fans have expressed their outrage after seeing the vantage point some spectators took to catch a glimpse of the race on Sunday.
Stage two of the world's biggest annual cycling event culminated in Boulogne-sur-Mer, located in the north of the country around 25 miles south-west of Calais.
The race saw Mathieu van der Poel pip Tadej Pogacar in a sprint finish to give the Dutchman the leader's yellow jersey.
Given the drama during the race, it appears that some fans were so eager to see it for themselves that they disregarded their surroundings to be able to watch it live.
A clip posted to X, formerly Twitter, shows some fans gathering on the edge of a cemetery to be as near to the action as possible.
That provoked outrage among many cycling fans, who felt the onlookers showed a lack of respect by doing so.
One user fumed: 'They no longer even see that they’re trampling on graves. Not out of hatred, but because they no longer know what respect is.
'When a person believes in nothing anymore, even the dead become invisible.'
A second added: 'The average French person has a simply astounding level of stupidity, [it is] quite frankly embarrassing.'
Another said: 'No respect for neither the living nor the dead.'
A fourth remarked: 'You have those who go to pay their respects at their loved ones' graves and clean and maintain their tombs once a week or more.
'And you have the disrespectful ones who want to be in the best spot to watch guys on bikes pass by for a few seconds.'
However, some were quick to defend the actions of the cycling fans, believing that there may have been space between the graves and the wall.
A further comment read: 'Between the grave and the low wall there is a space, nothing says they climbed onto the graves.'
Another said: 'It’s shameful to slander the people of my town to make them seem disrespectful, as long as there’s no damage, I don’t see what the problem is.'
A further supporter of the spectators said: 'At the funeral of a celebrity at Père Lachaise, there were so many people that you could only find yourself in the middle of the tombs, between which there are no spaces.
'Even being very careful, it’s not easy to avoid just stepping on one.'
