The Tour has long had problems with sabotage and demonstrations. There have also been episodes of wine and foodstuffs being chucked at riders, but this felt beyond the pale. Spitting at a rider is one thing, this quite another. The worry, according to Lefevere, is that the bigger star Cavendish becomes, the more prospect there is of him attracting a lone “idiot”. It did not help that Veelers raised temperatures by protesting bitterly about being “body checked” by his rival, even though the race jury felt he, not Cavendish, had been more at fault.