Yes, Eddie Merckx knows all about that. Slugged in the gut by a French "fan" while climbing and wearing yellow when trying to win his 6th Tour. Lost tons of time that day, tho' he was still in Yellow. But he didn't recover well and lost it soon after.
This is what makes me so crazy. One false move by just one idiot on the side of the road, can put a rider who's trained his whole adult life for this tour out of contention forever. When the Iraq war started and anti-americanism was at such a fever-pitch in France, I was so very frightened for LA, my stomach was in knots the whole tour. But you don't even need a war to set off some of these nuts: ask Eddie Merckx.
Agree.
Seeing the riders get near the tops of the mountain passes in some places and seeing the road almost blocked by fans? It looks like some just barely step out of the way in time.
Other posters have touched upon it, mentioning perhaps the most notorious incident of Eddy Merckx being assaulted by a spectator some 30 years ago, but the proximity of the fans to the course has always been one of the 'charms', as it were, of Le Tour.
I've been watching the Tour pretty religiously for well over 20 years now, and I can't really say if it's gotten worse - years ago all you saw was recaps at night, and a few hours on ABC?? on Sundays. Stages in the Pyrenees have always been total cluster f!*!ks, with their "...screaming, liquored-up, flag-draped Basques, who had poured in from Spain by the busload...", as that Breaking Away article on Floyd Landis so eloquently put it.
The Pyrennes stages have been the only ones that really concerned me, when the Basque separatist movement became quite violent in the late 80's / early 90's. I'm not sure that the stage sidelines have gotten more crowded - how could they, they've been packed for years! I think what has happened, with the advent of such great wall-to-wall coverage by OLN and, dare I say it, French TV, is that we're more aware of it. The closer coverage has its upside too, tho - I think deliberate acts of violence / sabotage are way down, due to the higher chances of being seen on film & thus caught.
What does seem to be on the rise is accidents, collisions w/ fans, being hit by signs or getting caught on handbags, as has happened more than once in recent years. My understanding about Paolo Savoldelli, who dropped out today, was that he was injured after the stage when he was descending, after deciding to ride back to the hotel rather than take the team bus. That could happen to anyone - barricades gone, spectators & vehicles all over the roads, etc. That's why they have the team buses, but a lot of times riders will ride down for a little 'quiet time' to reflect upon their performance, good or bad.
This is the first Tour I've followed closely, and it is absurd the degree to which fans can walk out onto the road, or stick their arms out, and interfere with the riders.