‘Derniere Renovation’ broke up Stage 10 of the iconic race

The Tour de France was brought to a halt on Tuesday after protestors glued themselves to the road and blocked it while letting off smoke bombs.

The incident occurred during Stage 10 of the iconic event and around 22 miles (35km) from the finish line in Megeve, France.

As broadcast footage showed, authorities had to arrive at the scene to address the issue as colored smoke filled the air.

Though Alberto Bettiol defiantly rode his bike through the protestors, most of the riders had to be held back to wait until the road was cleared.

“The race is neutralized. The race will resume with the same time gaps once the road will be cleared,” said the Tour de France race center in a statement, as French climate action group Derniere Renovation claimed responsibility for the protest.

Climate activists disrupted the Tour de France today pic.twitter.com/GJ1rzciq8J

— Dr. Lucky Tran (@luckytran) July 12, 2022

In a Twitter statement, the organization confirmed that it “interrupted the 10th stage of the Tour de France between Morzine and Megeve in the commune of Magland to stop the mad race towards the annihilation of our society”.

Derniere Renovation added that it “can no longer remain spectators of the ongoing climate disaster” and that “we have 989 days left to save our future, our humanity”.

“Our goal is to force legislation to drastically reduce France’s emissions, starting with energy reform, the area most likely to bring together social and climate justice today,” it continued.

“This is our last chance to avoid catastrophic and irreversible consequences: deadly heat, extreme weather events, famines, mass migrations, armed conflicts… and this is for all the next generations of humans.”

Stage 10 restarted after around 15 minutes of disruptions and was eventually won by Magnus Cort Nielsen.