Einer Rubio crashes into a UAE car in the midst of chaos at Alpe d'Huez and has to abandon the Tour

The spectacular climb to Alpe d’Huez once again demonstrated why it is one of the most iconic settings of the Tour de France, but it also exposed the risks posed by the enormous concentration of fans. The 19th stage ended with the abandonment of Einer Rubio (Movistar Team), who suffered a serious accident after colliding with a car from UAE Team Emirates-XRG during the ascent, after the vehicle had to brake sharply to avoid hitting a spectator who had invaded the road.

The chaos in Alpe d’Huez ends Einer Rubio's Tour after colliding with a UAE car

The Colombian was completing one of his best performances in this edition of the Tour. He had managed to get into the day's breakaway and was facing the decisive kilometers of Alpe d’Huez when the accident occurred that ended his race.

RUBIO DNF #TDF2026 pic.twitter.com/RXIeitU12O

— Lukáš Ronald Lukács (@lucxsronald) July 24, 2026

RECOMENDADO

Tadej Pogacar dominates in Alpe d'Huez: fifth victory and Tour almost decided

The illness strikes the UAE when Pogacar seemed to have the Tour secured: "We will survive Alpe d'Huez and then we'll see what we can do"

Pogacar shatters Pantani's record at Alpe d'Huez and sets the fastest ascent in history

The Alpe d'Huez arrives, the great test before the conclusion of the Tour de France: schedules and key points of stage 19

Richard Carapaz puts on a masterclass to win Stage 18 of the 2026 Tour de France at Orcières-Merlette

The Movistar Team confirmed shortly after that Rubio had been forced to abandon the race after suffering an incident during the stage. For now, the team has not provided information about the extent of his injuries or his condition.

Alpe d’Huez, at the limit of its capacity

The organization had been warning all week about the huge influx of spectators expected for the most iconic climb of the Tour. Thousands of fans began to occupy the ditches from the beginning of the week, and due to the saturation of vehicles and motorhomes, access to the mountain had to be closed to traffic on Thursday to prevent the concentration of people from continuing to increase.

Additionally, both from the official social media of the Tour and through messages distributed along the route, the organization insisted in the last hours on the need to respect the passage of the riders and the entire race caravan, reminding that any invasion of the roadway could have serious consequences.

The accident of Einer Rubio

The images shared on social media show Rubio riding very close to the UAE Team Emirates-XRG car while trying to maintain the pace after the effort made during the breakaway. At that moment, a fan partially invades the road, forcing the vehicle to stop almost instantly to avoid the collision.

With no time to react, the Colombian violently crashes into the rear of the car. The sound of the impact reveals the severity of the accident, which led to his immediate abandonment of the Tour de France.

More incidents during the ascent

Rubio's accident was not the only episode involving the behavior of the public in Alpe d’Huez. During the broadcast, it was also seen how Richard Carapaz was hit in the face by a spectator while he was leading the race.

Tadej Pogačar also did not have a calm ascent. The Slovenian was forced to dodge hands, flags, and fans that excessively narrowed the race corridor on several occasions, even gesturing and repeatedly asking to be given space to continue his ascent safely.

Although Alpe d’Huez once again provided one of the most spectacular images of the Tour thanks to the thousands of fans crowding its 21 bends, the fall and subsequent abandonment of Einer Rubio reopen the debate on safety in major climbs and the difficult balance between the unique atmosphere provided by the public and the risks posed when they invade the road.