Tour de France stage under threat due to forest fires, says official

PERPIGNAN, France – Forest fires ravaging a region in southern France are threatening a stage of the Tour de France cycling race, with a decision to be taken later in the day over whether the stage goes ahead, a top local official said on July 5.

The decision over the running of Stage 3 of the race will be taken “by the end of the day” after a discussion in the afternoon, said Pierre Regnault de la Mothe, the prefect – the top Paris-appointed official – of the Eastern Pyrenees department.

The fire currently burning in the area has already swept across some 1,500ha of land and required the mobilisation of some 700 firefighters.

It is located about 70km from Les Angles, where riders late in the afternoon on July 6 are due to finish the third stage of the event, which is set to start in Granollers in Spain.

The prefect has also ordered the closure of the main road that provides access – notably from the coast – to the route of July 6’s stage owing to the fire.

“The fire has flared up again – all resources are being mobilised to contain it,” added Regnault de la Mothe. AFP