"We will try, yes" - Tour de France activists say there can be a second protest on the road

Friday, 15 July 2022 at 11:30

The group of activists that blocked the road on stage 10 into Megève, Dernière Rènovation, have not been charged after the events of the day earlier in the week, and have talked about they are likely to repeat the protest in the coming period of time.

CyclingWeekly interviewed one of the protestors who was on the road, Thibaut Cantent, who was alongside the rest of the group released the day after with no charges. He confirms that there may be a second protest on the race: "I think we will try, yes, just like at any other big event. The whole idea is that we will keep doing it until we're thrown in jail or heard by our government," he admitted

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The group called for changes with the intent of minimizing the effects of climate change, with the goal of spreading awareness aswell. Cantent has said that these protests will keep occuring: "As much as we can, and as much as resources will allow us, we'll continue to go to football games, highways and the Tour de France route, to where protests are possible.

"The reality is we have very little power over factories and death machines that are operated around the world [because] they are highly monitored and guarded. Citizens are left with few options but to go and disrupt where they can access. For us, regular citizens, the Tour de France is one of those places," he explained.

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The protest saw mixed reactions from the peloton, with criticism and understanding both present in the riders and race personnel. Although the protest saw little consequences to the race, a second occurrence will be an undesired situation for the race organizers and teams.