Tour de France press car hits barriers near Ussel finish, eight spectators injured, one seriously
A L'Equipe vehicle struck metal barriers roughly 350 metres from the line in Ussel about 20 minutes before the riders arrived, Corrèze prefecture and police sources confirm.
What happened
A press car belonging to the French sports daily L'Equipe struck spectators at the finish area of stage nine of the Tour de France in Ussel, Corrèze, on Sunday. The collision occurred around 17:00, roughly 20 minutes before the riders were due to arrive. The vehicle first hit several metal barriers on the left side of the road at a point estimated by different sources to be between 350 and 500 metres from the finish line, then struck people standing behind the barriers.
I heard a noise, at first I thought it was a barrier that had fallen.
A second witness told Le Parisien they saw people knocked to the ground who managed to get back up. Two others were lying on the road, they said.
Casualties and response
The Corrèze prefecture stated that eight spectators were injured. One was placed in an absolute emergency but, as of Sunday evening, their life was not considered to be in danger. The other seven sustained minor injuries. A police source cited by Le Parisien said two people were taken away by emergency services, one of them "seriously", and that no further transports by the fire service were required. Firefighters and SAMU teams responded to the scene immediately.
Driver and investigation
The driver is a man in his sixties. Police told Le Parisien that the leading hypothesis is a medical episode at the wheel. The Tulle public prosecutor's office has opened an investigation to establish the full circumstances of the crash. The prosecutor confirmed that the driver has not been taken into custody.
The driver of a car belonging to the newspaper L'Equipe suffered a medical episode.
The race context
Stage nine was shortened by 30 kilometres earlier in the day because of a heatwave in Corrèze, a measure that Le Soir described as unprecedented for weather reasons across 113 editions of the Tour. The amended stage finished in a mass sprint won by Dutch rider Mathieu van der Poel. Sunday's crash occurred before the peloton reached Ussel.
- Stage nine shortened by 30 km due to a heatwave in Corrèze, an unprecedented weather-related reduction in Tour history.
- L'Equipe press car driver suffers a suspected medical episode, hits metal barriers and spectators 350-500 m from the finish line.
- Firefighters and SAMU respond; eight spectators are injured, one placed in absolute emergency.
- Tulle prosecutor opens investigation; driver not taken into custody. Mathieu van der Poel wins the stage sprint.
