Overview
- Belgian activist Wouter Mouton stepped onto a cobblestone stretch about 30 kilometers from the finish, blocked the race route, and forced sudden braking that led to multiple crashes.
- Motorbikes ahead stopped to remove him, and defending champion Juan Sebastián Molano fell and later reported back pain, with Julius Johansen also crashing.
- Police held Mouton for twelve hours and are reviewing race video after complaints from organiser Golazo and the Astana, Decathlon, and Uno‑X teams, with a Decathlon bike reported damaged.
- Organiser Christophe Impens said the act put riders in great danger and added that Mouton planned to glue himself to the cobbles before staff stopped him.
- Mouton has a record of high‑profile protests, including gluing his head to Vermeer’s The Girl with a Pearl Earring, and he wore a T‑shirt referencing children dying from the climate crisis during this action.