Oh, the selfie. Songs have been written, memes have been made, and the word for “an anti-social practice of not asking a stranger to snap a blurry photo of you doing something marginally interesting” is now part of the lexicon. It may not be cool, but it’s sure pragmatic.
And dangerous, as it turns out.
Spectators at the Tour de France are known for trying to get as close to the action as possible–much to the vexation of riders. But the desire to score a sweet pic with the peloton in the background is putting both fans and cyclists at risk. People capturing images with outstretched arms and backs to the action have become so insufferable that athletes and organizers are speaking out.
Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas called the selfies a “pain in the arse,” and went on to say that “people don’t understand how fast we’re going and how close we get […] They don’t realize we use every part of the road.”
American BMC rider Tejay van Garderen tweeted that the practice is “A dangerous mix of vanity and stupidity.”
That may be so, but if people were actually afraid of looking vane or stupid, the trend would have ended long ago. As it stands, the selfie is here to stay and cyclists will have to be wary of yet another hazard en route.
https://twitter.com/tejay_van/status/485818491749298176
https://twitter.com/LucyLSJ/status/485879996578529280