Omar Fraile wins the 14th stage while the safety of the runners is at the center of the debate | sport

The safety of the Tour de France riders was about to collapse after the sponsors of Vincenzo Nibali, who had collapsed after a collision with a spectator, confirmed that they were considering legal action against the promoters of the race, ASO. Chris Froome

Froome again suffered the greatest number of spectator abuse, 48 hours after the moody stage in Alpe d'Huez in which the Team Sky driver was Jostled and the winner of the 2014 Nibali Tour was shot by a wandering spectator and forced to abandon the race with fractured vertebrae.

Initially, the indication was that the Nibali team, Bahrain-Merida, had accepted the incident as being merely bad luck; but team manager, Brent Copeland, has now confirmed that a lawsuit is possible and that he warns his riders to avoid Froome

"In the past, we We said: "Guys, stay ahead to avoid accidents." Now, we say, "Do not stay behind Froome, it's dangerous," Copeland said.

The safety problems that have weighed on this Tour since the start of the race in Vendée two weeks ago have become a real headache, organizers Froome, whose presence on the race has become extremely controversial after that ASO sought to prevent him from competing, before allowing him to run, was the focal point of the greatest hostility.

Yesterday, there was more than Hostility with what appeared to be beer.The winner of the Tour four times and still booing and making fun of the arrival of the scene. I'm not surprised, "said teammate and race leader Geraint Thomas. "We had a bit of it, it was always water from what I saw, but I would not know what it was [today]."

Copeland added that "Froome is facing the risk that something is happening every day." Chris said that himself when we spoke recently. "The other day at Alpe d'Huez Vincenzo was behind Froome after his attack Chris managed to avoid the bikes and everything Vincenzo fell. "

As for the crash of Nibali and its abandonment, Copeland said that his team Bahrain-Merida had" suffered ". "Enormous damage" and that the team's lawyers were investigating possible legal action. The gendarmerie did not do what it was supposed to do, "he said." They did not do anything about the people who light flares. " It's not easy to control over 600,000 fans like there was the other day, but as they are so powerful and so well organized, you have to manage something well. "

The tensions around Froome and Thomas seem to diminish The winding wooded roads of Ardeche and Lozère ended with a 14th stage without much success for Omar Fraile of Spain, the first victory of his career on the Tour

Fraile had returned, watered and celebrated well before the start of the favorites, the steep final climb to the Mende aerodrome.It took a speculative movement of Primoz Roglic to light all the lights, Tom Dumoulin trying his hand 2km from the finish, but Thomas and Froome were able to react by closing on the runway overlooking Mende

. The climb from 3 km to 39. at the aerodrome caused some damage Adam Yates, who had hopes for recovery in the final stages of the race, was among the first to crack while Romain Bardet and Mikel Landa were unable to follow Thomas, Dumoulin and Froome, now solidly established as the three favorites for the final. Victory in Paris

"It was a tough little final," said Froome, "only a 3km climb, but explosive, difficult.I think we saw the damage that he did, even a short climb like this

"There were holes everywhere and a few seconds gained here and there with a few guys. Overall, we are quite happy with myself and Geraint, at the front. Dumoulin seems to be our biggest threat. "

Again it is Thomas who has appeared the most comfortable of the three favorites, with Froome being briefly abandoned." The goal was still to participate in this Tour and I think I was there. I have timed well, "said Froome." I had a good recovery block after the Giro and the construction, in the Tour, was really the right thing to do for me. "

Thomas has also quoted Dumoulin, the Giro champion in 2017, as the biggest threat hold the main role of race. "It's impressive," he said about the Dutchman's performance. to do his job well. "

" He is the world champion of the time trial and he knows exactly how to fly, whether it's a 3 km climb or the only one. " Alpe d'Huez. You do not know if he's really suffering or if he's just pacing. Fair play for him. It takes bullets to do it, especially when you do not have teammates, but we are just happy to be in the situation where we are. "