Crash Turns Tour de France into Running Event

AS IT IS 2016-07-16 Crash Turns Tour de France into Running Event

This is What’s Trending Today.

The Tour de France is the most famous cycling event in the world. It takes place every year over three weeks in July.

Some of the most important stages of the event finish on top of mountains. That is because it is a chance for riders who are good at going uphill to move ahead of slower riders.

British cyclist Chris Froome is one of those riders. He won the Tour de France in 2013 and 2015. Heading into Thursday’s stage he was leading the race by 28 seconds.

Stage 12 finished on top of Mont Ventoux. The riders covered about 180 kilometers on Thursday. Mont Ventoux is famous for its steep sections.

Near the end of the stage, Australian rider Richie Porte was in front of Froome. Then he crashed into a motorcycle. Froome crashed into Porte, and his bike was so damaged, he could not keep riding.

The road was packed with spectators². Froome’s support vehicle had a replacement³ bike, but it could not get through.

Instead of waiting, worried that he would lose time, Froome decided⁴ to run up the mountain. He was about 1 kilometer from the finish when he started running. Froome was running fast even though he was wearing shoes meant only for cycling!

Most people could not remember a cyclist running during a bike race. In fact, riders are not supposed to finish a stage without their bike.

Froome’s run was so surprising; it was a worldwide trending topic on Twitter. Many people used photo editing⁶ software to show Froome running in unique places.

One person showed him running away from bulls⁷, as if he were in Pamplona, Spain.

Another showed him finishing ahead of sprinter⁸ Usain Bolt.

A third showed him running with Forrest Gump from the famous Tom Hanks movie.

A lot of people had fun with Froome’s panic. But some people were worried Froome would lose time on his rivals.

Luckily for Froome, the crash did not affect his position in the race. Because the crash was not his fault, race officials adjusted his time.

Froome finished the stage with same time as the other riders he was with at the time of the crash.

And that’s What’s Trending Today.

Words in This Story

stage – n. a section or period of an event

spectator¹ – n. a person who watches an event, show, game, activity, etc., often as part of an audience

panic – n. a state or feeling of extreme fear that makes someone unable to act or think normally

adjust – v. to change the position of (something)

steep – adj. almost straight up and down : rising or falling very sharply⁹

edit⁵ – v. to prepare (something written) to be published or used : to make changes, correct mistakes, etc., in (something written)

1 spectator   

n.观众，目击者，旁观者

参考例句：

• A spectator threw the ball back to the players.一个观众把球掷回给球员。
• He was content to stand by as an impassive spectator.他满足于站在旁边做一个冷漠的旁观者。

2 spectators   

n.观众，旁观者( spectator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The spectators were wilting visibly in the hot sun. 看得出观众在炎热的阳光下快支撑不住了。
• The policemen asked the spectators to stand well back. 警察要求旁观者靠后站。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 edit   

vt.编辑，校订，主编，编辑，剪辑（影片等）

参考例句：

• You'll have to edit that tape,it's too long.那盘录音带太长，你得把它剪辑一下。
• It is not yet decided who will edit it.由谁校订未决。

6 editing   

adj.编辑的

参考例句：

• The processing of data in random order,not subject to preliminary editing or sorting.未经预先编辑或分类，以任意次序对数据进行的处理的做法。

7 bulls   

n.公牛( bull的名词复数 )；法令；力大如牛的人；（象、鲸等动物的）雄兽

参考例句：

• Riding bulls is always an exciting event at a rodeo. 骑公牛总是放牧人竞技会上激动人心的表演。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Two white bulls were sacrificed and a feast was held. 献祭了两头白牛，并举行了盛宴。 来自辞典例句

8 sprinter   

n.短跑运动员，短距离全速奔跑者

参考例句：

• He is more a sprinter than a swimmer. 他是短跑健将，而不是游泳选手。 来自辞典例句
• The sprinter himself thinks he can run the race at 9.4 seconds. 这位短跑运动员自认为可以用9.4秒跑完比赛。 来自互联网

9 sharply   

adj.锐利地，急速；adv.严厉地，鲜明地

参考例句：

• The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
• Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。