There was destruction a-plenty in major sporting events yesterday. At the Tour de France a series of crashes throughout the day transformed what should have been a straightforward bunch finish into a lottery. Geraint Thomas fell off early on and brought down Robert Gesink. Thomas managed to ride away; Gesink abandoned. Later Primoz Roglic fell off and lost time to the GC leaders. During the sprint finish Caleb Ewan and Peter Sagan bumped wheels; Sagan rolled over with his bike firmly in his grasp but Ewan lay on the ground, just yards from the finish line, waiting for the peloton to pass before medical aid could reach him.
Those crashes followed the incident yesterday when a moronic spectator, more intent on waving a piece of cardboard for the cameras than watching the race, hit Tony Martin with it on a narrow section of road. Martin went over and some 40 riders piled over him, leaving bits of bike strewn across the road.
A different sort of destruction in the European Championships. Following the Netherlands lack-lustre performance yesterday, it was nearly Spain. Leading 3-1 against Croatia until a few minutes before full time, they let in two quick goals and were taken to extra time where they recovered. In the evening it was real for France. Uncannily their game with Switzerland went exactly the same way - Switzerland scored a shock early goal, France banged in three in the second half and were strolling and then the Swiss rallied to score twice at the end of normal time. But there the resemblance ended. No goals in extra time and the failure of France's fifth penalty-taker to do what the nine preceding strikers had achieved put the World Champions out.
Today England host Germany. The mood of the English supporters seems to be rather muted. There are few flags in evidence in the streets or in houses. Most comments are resigned to another disappointment. This writer has no such defeatist qualms. Of course we will triumph. Unless we don't.
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