A woman reacts during a wildfire on the outskirts of the northern city of Thessaloniki, Greece, on Sunday. GIANNIS PAPANIKOS/AP
Spectators were banned from part of the route of the third stage of this year's Tour de France cycle race on Monday as devastating wildfires ripped across large areas of southern Europe.
Widespread blazes have become an increasingly regular summer occurrence across Europe in recent years, with Portugal, Spain, Greece and France among the first countries to be affected this year.
Monday's stage of the world's most famous cycling race, which draws enormous crowds to watch 184 riders covering more than 3,300 kilometers in 21 stages, took place near the town of Trevillach in the Pyrenees-Orientales department, where fires have left two people hospitalized in critical condition.
The stage was almost canceled altogether before the decision was made to go ahead, but huge crowds were kept away on safety grounds.
