Einer Rubio's Tour de France ended in the kind of chaos that has come to define a frantic Alpe d'Huez stage, after the Movistar rider crashed into the back of a UAE Team Emirates-XRG car on Friday and abandoned on stage 19.
The incident came during a stage already packed with disruption on the 21 bends of the climb, where spectators crowded the roadside and several riders were forced to deal with interruptions in the final kilometres. Tadej Pogačar won the stage, but the bigger story for many was the disorder around the decisive part of the climb.
Why the UAE Team Emirates-XRG car stopped
Joxean Fernández Matxin said a spectator unexpectedly ran into the road and fell under the vehicle, prompting an immediate reaction from the team car.
“My only reaction was to brake right away to avoid running over him,” he said.
Matxin later explained that the car had only just stopped when it heard the impact behind it. In the noise and pressure of the finish, he said it was not until the team reached the line that he learned how serious the crash had been and that Rubio had to abandon the Tour.
Rubio was taken to hospital and required 20 stitches after the accident. It was a painful end to his race, and a stark reminder of how quickly a crucial mountain stage can turn dangerous when crowds spill too close to the road.
A wider problem on Alpe d'Huez
Rubio's crash was not the only disruption on Friday. Remco Evenepoel was also blocked by fans and motorbikes while trying to accelerate away from his podium rivals, underlining how difficult the final climb became for the race leaders.
Thierry Gouvenou raised the broader question of whether the accident could have been avoided, saying that while accidents may be preventable in the moment they happen, it was clear there were serious issues around safety on the stage.
With Jonas Vingegaard already out of the Tour de France, the race context had already shifted. But Alpe d'Huez still delivered the sort of pressure, crowding and unpredictability that can change a stage in an instant, and Rubio was the rider who paid the highest price.
