Mix of calm and concern as cycling's Tour heads into riot-hit France

SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain : While the vast majority of the Tour de France peloton is not concerned by the riots that have been hitting the country following the fatal shooting of a teenager by police, some have expressed concerns that the race might be disrupted.

After a start in Bilbao, Spain, the Tour heads to France on Monday with visits to Bayonne, Dax, Pau and Bordeaux during the week.

Rioting across France appeared to be less intense on Saturday, but tens of thousands of police have been deployed in cities across the country after the funeral of a teenager of North African descent, whose shooting by police sparked nationwide unrest.

Foreign team members have confessed not knowing much about the situation in France, arguing they are in a 'bubble' on the Tour de France.

Some 33,000 law enforcement officers are deployed throughout the three-week race, but team buses and thousand of euros in material are being guarded by a sole private security officer overnight.

A senior source with direct knowledge of the matter said that none of the officers would be pulled out of the race to be redeployed across the country for anti-rioting duty.

Tour de France organisers say they are ready to adjust to any situation.

"We are in constant liaison with the State services and we are following the situation and how it has been evolving," Prudhomme told reporters on Friday.

"I don't really have any comment on it, that's one for the authorities who are working very hard," Rod Ellingworth, the racing director of the Ineos-Grenadiers team, told Reuters.

In French teams or for French riders, however, the tone is slightly different.

"Obviously we're concerned, we can't be insensitive to what's been happening but there's not much we can do. We wait for