Tour de France interrupted when riders run into bales of hay and tear gas

[admin]

Four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome applies eye drops after police inadvertently sprayed tear gas onto the course. As if traversing the Pyrenees from*Carcassonne to Bagnères-de-Luchon wasn’t grueling enough for Tour de France competitors racing Tuesday’s 16th stage, riders also ran into bales of hay placed by protesters and tear gas sprayed by police during the 218-kilometer leg through the mountains. According to the Associated Press, the hay bales were thrown into the road ahead of the race’s lead pack by farmers facing an even more grueling challenge — the reduction of European Union funding.