Mystery Tacks Deflate Tour de France Tires

Why doesn't this happen more often? The Tour de France was humming along happily yesterday when scattered tacks on the road punctured the tires of several riders—including defending champ Cadel Evans, Sky News reports. Tour leader Bradley Wiggins called for the pack to slow down, so they all finished more than 18 minutes behind the lucky few who had already broken away.

Tour officials asked police to investigate, but race director Jean-Francois Pescheux said it will be "difficult" because so many people attended the event. "It was obviously done on purpose," he said. "We have the tacks but we don't know who spread them." Wiggins called it "sad," saying that "those are the type of things we have to put up with as cyclists." Luis Leon Sanchez of Spain ended up winning the spoiled stage of the race. (More Tour de France stories.)