Tour de France 2014: 'Selfies are the new pain in the arse for cyclists,' blasts Geraint Thomas
The picture craze has frustrated cyclists as they travel through Britain
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Selfies are the "new pain in the arse" for cyclists at the Tour de France as it travels though Britain, rider Geraint Thomas has said.
The Team Sky cyclist has warned that spectators taking the pictures pose a safety risk for the riders, as they have their backs to the road to get that all-important shot of themselves in, with Thomas claiming that they should "stand on a wall" when taking selfies.
"The worst thing is when people have got their backs to the peloton taking selfies,” the Welshman said. “I had a few of those and they don’t see us coming and are stood in the road and it is very dodgy.
"If you are on the front you can see it, but if you are a couple of people back you suddenly see them and you can hit them. There have been too many big accidents with riders hitting spectators and you don’t want to see that.
"There is not much racing on British roads and people don’t understand how fast we go and how much of the road we use. If they want selfies they should stand on a wall."
Thomas is not alone in his frustration with the smartphone craze, the American Tejay van Garderen described selfies as "a dangerous mix of vanity and stupidity".
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments