Bjarne Riis
Bjarne Riis
Having pulled on the yellow jersey in 1996, Bjarne Riis’ defence of the Tour de France title went from bad to worse the following year.
Already well down the GC, and having ceded the team leadership to Jan Ulrich, Riis suffered further ignominy as his time trial bike malfunctioned at Disneyland.
A rear wheel change failed to correct the issue, as he came to a stop again moments later, so the Dane took the next logical step – throw the bike into a ditch.
After overcoming his strop and returning to pick up his bike, Riis’ eventually finished the stage in 93rd place, before coming seventh overall in the race as Ulrich claimed the yellow jersey.