Tour De France: Sheep Interrupt Mountain Race

(AP) COL DU TOURMALET, France — COL DU TOURMALET, France - The riders of the Tour de France have been disrupted by sheep running across their path on a hard climb up the Pyrenees mountains.

Television footage showed the sheep hesitating and then setting off together across the road as the peloton was ascending the hard climb of the Col du Soudor in heavy fog and rain.

No rider fell, but several were forced to brake hard and halt.

The sheep did not disrupt the leading group of seven riders or the 2008 champion Carlos Sastre, riding between the leading group and the peloton.

The 17th stage Thursday of 108 miles from Pau to the Col du Tourmalet is the Tour's most prestigious. Alberto Contador leads the race by eight seconds ahead of Andy Schleck.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

PAU, France (AP) -- The 172 remaining riders have set out on the Tour de France's biggest stage, a make-or-break day for Luxembourg's Andy Schleck if he wants to overcome defending champion Alberto Contador of Spain.

The riders have left Pau on the 108.1-mile 17th stage that ends with one of the most wrenching ascents in pro cycling -- the climb of the Col du Tourmalet.

Schleck hopes to make up an eight-second deficit to Contador and then open a lead big enough to get him through Saturday's time-trial -- a discipline which is Contador's specialty.

The Tour finishes in Paris on Sunday.

WATCH:

Comments

[bigpix2000]

07:47 AM on 07/26/2010

DEMON SHEEP!

[enoughofrr]

04:37 PM on 07/24/2010

It's the way they walk. You ever seen one walking away?

[Aripottah]

03:14 PM on 07/24/2010

One learns something new every day. I never thought I'd see the day when Boehner would go to such extremes as to interrupt the Tour de France.

[yannb]

01:46 PM on 07/24/2010

These are French sheep. They don't "baaaaaah", they "meeeeeeeh".

[defdes]

12:37 PM on 07/24/2010

Jeesh HP, the tour is OVER and this is the only story you have up about it?
Schleck really was robbed of a deserved victory. Andy really will have his "revenge" next year I feel.

[kapalabhati]

03:36 PM on 07/26/2010

It's an interesting story, exactly 38-39 seconds was Contador's attack during Schleck's mechanical problem....

[Musa1]

10:59 PM on 07/23/2010

That's nothing. The real story should be the scary naked drunk European guys running along with the riders in the mountain climbs.

[521sunnyside]

07:48 AM on 07/23/2010

On other sport offers so much and its free. What a sky box view...

[johnnydajogger]

08:58 PM on 07/22/2010

That's the part of the Tour where they "separate the sheep from the goats."

[darrtown]

05:18 PM on 07/22/2010

Those sheep were probably wondering what all these crazed humans were up to.

[Meggie]

04:40 PM on 07/22/2010

Hey, you guys have posted some awesome jokes and remarks. Very funny.
Thanks for the laugh!

[KIVPossum]

04:35 PM on 07/22/2010

Hate to go off the right shoulder on that road

[Meggie]

04:34 PM on 07/22/2010

Awww, why didn't they add in that group of guys in Borat green swimsuits that were running along like the sheep?
It was quite a morning!

[Huffingbrownbag]

04:22 PM on 07/22/2010

You expect these guys to finish the race but when a good-looking sheep wanders by a new kind of competition takes place.

[Alex Da Ponte Melo]

03:56 PM on 07/22/2010

Where I live is cows...lol This last week-end they 'interrupted' a Rally!

[kewps]

03:52 PM on 07/22/2010

I wonder if it was demon sheep and FCINO's that interrupted the race?