Selfies are disrupting the Tour de France

Selfies are disrupting the Tour de France
(Image credit: Twitter)

Selfies at the Tour de France, which started Saturday, aren't just annoying — they're causing major distractions and even injuries for the event's actual participants.

"The worst thing is when people have got their back to the peloton taking selfies," Team Sky rider Geraint Thomas told The Guardian. "They don't see us coming...I think people need to realize we take up the whole road."

American rider Tejay van Garderen tweeted that he suffered an injury during the race thanks to selfie-takers in the middle of the road, calling the selfies "a dangerous mix of vanity and stupidity." The guilty photographers weren't just teens, either — many of the selfies were of full-grown adults.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

For those who still can't resist the Tour de France selfie, Thomas has some advice: "If you want to go and do that, go and sit in a tree." --Meghan DeMaria

Explore More

Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.