Pulled photographer apologizes after Col de Joux Plane drama: "I am very sorry for Tadej Pogačar and for the cycling show"

The Tour de France lures in huge crowds and at the Col de Joux Plane it has perhaps been the most densely cheered on ascent of the race so far. This led to problems with the motorbikes not being able to move freely, which eventually saw a controversial moment where Tadej Pogacar's attack was blocked by one. The user of that motorbike apologizes for the incident.

“I should have asked my driver to increase the gap earlier. The next time this happens, it's a shame for the photo," Bernard Papon, photographer of l'Équipe said this morning. “There are rules for such situations and we made a mistake. I am very sorry for Tadej Pogačar and for the cycling show.” Papon was part of one of the three motorbikes who were involved in incidents yesterday and were fined, besides being excluded from stage 15 as a penalization. 

The photographer admits to have comunicated with the driver but under the chaotic conditions that the final climb was under, it was not possible to move out of the way of the riders with safety - fearing a situation similar to that of the 2016 Mont Ventoux where motorbikes and riders went down because of immense crowds. “There were so many people on the sidelines. When I saw Pogacar attacking, I told my driver, but he replied that he simply couldn't accelerate," he says. 

"We would only have had a really delicate situation if we had hit someone. We had to make a choice with the crowd so close to it: interrupt the rider's effort or ride into the crowd and injure people. I'm not trying to defend the indefensible here. We should never have been in this situation.”