Vincenzo Nibali: ‘Riders are the heart of the race - we need more safety’

Vincenzo Nibali says more needs to be done to protect riders at the Tour de France after he suffered a serious injury during this year’s race.

The Italian was brought down after a clash with a fan on the crowded slopes of Alpe d’Huez on stage 12 of the Tour.

Nibali, who is now at the centre of a court case following the crash, told Cycling Weekly that riders need to be protected.

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The 34-year-old said: “The Tour de France organiser has done many things but on the special stages, for example Mont Ventoux or Alpe d’Huez, we must do more because the rider is the heart of the race, the heart of cycling, and we need safety.

“Of course cycling is on the roads, so the only thing we can do is talk to the fans and say ‘please respect the riders’.”

The past winner of all three Grand Tours was speaking at the recent WTM travel show in London.

Nibali also didn't rule out a possible future with Team Sky.

Days after that conversation, Nibali spent three hours giving evidence to French police who are investigating the crash.

Nibali was forced to abandon after he become tangled in a fan’s camera strap on the heavily crowded roads to the summit on stage 12.

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He finished the stage, but was then taken to hospital where a fractured vertebra was discovered.

On Saturday, November 10, Nibali travelled across the border from Italy to France with his lawyer to give evidence, according to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. 

Nibali and his Bahrain-Merida team argue that Tour de France organiser ASO should be held responsible for the crash.

Police are expected to collect evidence from the incident in an attempt to identify the fan involved.

Nibali’s crash was not the only time this season a camera strap affected racing.

At Il Lombardia, Frenchman Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) got tangled in a camera strap on a climb 45km from the finish.