Tour de France Cyclists Faced With a New Danger: Selfies

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The pack with Italy's Vincenzo Nibali, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, left, passes King's College during the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 155 kilometers (96.3 miles) with start in Cambridge and finish in London, England, Monday, July 7, 2014.

Image: Laurent Cipriani/Associated Press

By Jessica Plautz2014-07-07 14:21:56 UTC

The selfie craze has hit the annual Tour de France race, which kicked off Saturday, and cyclists aren't happy about it.

In attempts to take selfies, fans are sometimes walking right in the middle of the road to get shots with cyclists behind them.

See also: 14 Extreme Selfies That Push Duck Face Off a Cliff

“Some spectators were in the middle of the road taking pictures,” Marcel Kittel, who won Saturday’s sprint finish in Harrogate, said. “Then there is the classic one where they are all in the road and when the peloton comes, they move off, but they leave grandma in the wheelchair still there. We are very happy to have them and it was an amazing crowd today but they have to take care to stay off the road.”

Some comments on the selfies posted on Instagram even explicitly mention the danger. "Nearly died [taking] #TDFselfie," one fan wrote.

Cyclists are traveling at high speeds along the route, and people in the road pose a clear danger.

Rider Tejay van Garderen wrote that the selfie-taking was “a dangerous mix of vanity and stupidity.”

He went on to say that he appreciated fans, but that everyone should be cautious.

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Topics: cycling, europe, france, sheep, tour de france, US & World, World