VAISON LA ROMAINE, France -- It was the sort of incident that, sadly, was waiting to happen.The shambolic finish to the 12th stage of the Tour de France on Thursday was littered with senseless crowds,? which ruined a dramatic finale. Not only did the incident halt the attack of British two-time Tour champion Chris Froome and Australian Richie Porte, but it turned the finale into a farce.In the shortened 178km stage from Montpellier to Mont Ventoux, Froome (Sky) and Porte (BMC) each crashed into a television motor bike that had been stopped by a virtual wall of fans. This happened as the two, along with Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), were extending their lead on the group of rivals with 1.2 kilometers to go. The replays showed Porte riding straight into the back of the motor bike, striking his chin as he went to the ground, with Froome and Mollema following suit.In addition to the crowds, another contributing factor to the crash was the lack of barriers leading up to the finish. Because the distance of the stage was shortened due to gale-force winds, organizers had not brought more barriers down from the initial finish at the summit of Mont Ventoux.Some might argue that this years Tour has become farcical, remembering the embarrassment of the one-kilometrer-to-go arch falling onto British rider Adam Yates (Orica-BikeExchange) on Saturday. And to think Thursdays crash came just five days after Froomes impassioned plea for crowds to respect the riders and not run too close to them.But the drama didnt end with the crashes. First came the sight of Froome dropping his broken bike, after he got back up on his feet and ran for 50 seconds. Who could have imagined? The yellow jersey wearer, a two-time Tour winner, running as if he was in a triathlon transition zone through the still cheering and shocked masses. He stopped to resume cycling only when the neutral service gave him a spare, but ill-fitting, bike. Finally, his Sky team car reached him to provide a better bike.Then as Mollema raced ahead, the rivals he, Froome and Porte had worked so hard to drop caught up with the chaos, only to sweep by Froome and Porte, who finished 19th and 25th respectively. Meanwhile, Belgian rider Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) won the stage.But the race jury overturned the provisional results and declared a new race leader in Yates, who began the stage in second place overall. Froome and Porte were awarded the same finishing time as Mollema, who placed 10th at 5:05, and Froome was officially put back into first place overall with a lead of 47 seconds on Yates and 54 seconds on Colombian Nairo Quintana (Movistar). As for Porte, he was up from 14th to 11th overall -- but still at 2:22 to Froome.Froome: Expect the unexpected at the TourYates welcomed the overturn. I dont want to take the jersey like that, he said. Id rather take it with my legs and not a crash in a bad situation. If I was in the same situation in the yellow jersey, Id want the same outcome.Froome did not attend the post stage media zone or news conference that is normally required of the yellow jersey wearer. But he spoke to French Television and released a statement on the Team Sky website: Mount Ventoux always throws up something different, and today was no exception. Obviously its really unfortunate what happened in the last couple of kilometres, but ultimately I think common sense has prevailed and the commissaries have come to the right decision -- so Id like to thank them for that. You always have to expect the unexpected at the Tour, and Ive said all along that this would be my biggest challenge yet. Now Im just looking forward to tomorrows time trial.On Friday, the Tour will resume, as it always does after a crisis, for the Stage 13 time trial, 37.5 kilometers from Bourg-Saint-Andéol to La Caverne du Pont DArc. But as Froome, Porte and the rest of the peloton continue on, the understandable and justified calls for crowds to be controlled must be addressed.A lauded trait of the Tour is the interaction between riders and fans who flock in the hundreds of thousands to watch the worlds biggest bike race. But for years, concerns have been brewing at increasing levels of extreme behavior. The reasons have been many. Fan excitement is one. In the 1993, as Italian Giuseppe Guerini (Telekom) was soloing toward victory on the prestigious Alpine finish at lAlpe dHuez, he was bowled over by a spectator who was standing in the middle of the road to take his photo. Guerini still won the stage and the offending fans, to his credit, apologized the next day.However, in recent years, the frenzy has seen more violent intent. Sentiment toward American Lance Armstrong during his reign as the Tour champion from 1999 to 2005 turned from bitter to extremely volatile as suspicion grew that he was doping. Once encouraging messages of support -- that were either verbalized or painted on the road -- became direct personal insults. Suspicion that Armstrong doped eventually proved correct after he confessed and was banned for life in 2012. He was also stripped of his tour titles.Porte: I dont know what they are going to do.Froome and Porte have both experienced the ugly and angry tone of the crowd, as have other riders. In 2013, when Froome won at Mont Ventoux, after dropping Quintana, he rode to victory through a chorus of boos and jeers. Quintana was otherwise greeted by cheers. Just last year, Froome had urine thrown at him, and Porte was punched during a stage.Even on Thursday, when Froome received his yellow jersey, he was also greeted by boos. Porte was at a loss to explain how the crowds became so uncontrollable. I dont know what [race organizers] are going to do. They need to do something about it because its not fair, Porte said. Its not really the motor bikes, is it? Its the crowds. They are in your face the whole time, pushing order, and at the top there, that was just crazy. We were 23 seconds in front and next thing for something so silly, you know everyone is back on us.De Gendt called for action to be taken: There were a lot of people in the last kilometer, he said. They should do something about that. There was not even a place for one moto.Trouble is, after Froomes plea for respect last week clearly fell on the deaf ears, one cant help but ask: What is the solution? Cheap Minnesota Timberwolves Jerseys . -- The Sacramento Kings are set to become the first major professional sports franchise to accept Bitcoin virtual currency for ticket and merchandise purchases. Cheap Utah Jazz Jerseys . The 18-year-old American had five birdies in her bogey-free round for a 17-under total of 196. Lee held the overnight lead but mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a 70. http://www.cheapnbaoutletjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-detroit-pistons-jerseys . 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He will consult with Hahn and assistant general manager Buddy Bell while working with the White Sox and their minor league affiliates. Thome, who pointed out he is not officially retired from baseball, said he was contacted by Bell two weeks ago about the opportunity to help coach. "Hes a strong baseball guy," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "I look forward to having him around." Thomes 612 homers over his 22-year career are seventh in major-league history.dddddddddddd He also had 1,699 RBIs. He was a member of two pennant-winning teams in Cleveland (1995, 1997) and his solo home run was the only run in the White Soxs 1-0 win over Minnesota in a one-game playoff for the 2008 American League Central division title. Thome was a favourite of White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf when he played in Chicago from 2006-2009. "When I left here, Jerry always joked he wanted me to come back at some point," Thome said. 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