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Tour de France spectator who caused 'Allez Opi-Omi' crash fined €1,200

The woman, who has not been named, avoided jail time for her role in the opening stage pile-up

The spectator who caused a huge crash during the opening stage of this year's Tour de France, has been fined €1,200 by a French court. The woman avoided jail time, but was also ordered to pay a symbolic €1 to the French Cycling Union, UNCP.

The 31-year-old, from the Finistère department where the opening stage from Brest to Landernau took place, had been charged with “endangering others by manifestly deliberate violation of a regulatory obligation of safety and prudence,” causing “involuntary injuries, with incapacity not exceeding three months.”

The maximum penalty she could have faced was a €15,000 fine and/or 12 months’ imprisonment, although prosecutors had sought a four-month suspended sentence, which they said was intended to act as a “warning,” at a hearing at the criminal court in Brest in October.

Professional riders’ union the CPA had joined the action as a civil party and was seeking token compensation of €1 to reinforce to spectators their responsibility regarding race safety, as was the ANCP, which represents French riders.

> ‘Allez Opi-Omi’ Tour de France fan who caused huge crash asked for €1 compensation from pro riders’ union ahead of court case

Three riders – Cyril Lemoine of B&B Hotels, Groupama-FDJ’s Ignatas Konovalovas and Team DSM’s Jasha Sütterlin – were unable to carry on in the race, while a fourth, Movistar’s Marc Soler, finished the stage but had to abandon afterwards due to injuries sustained in the crash. 

The woman who caused the crash as she held up a sign greeting her grandparents in German fled the scene and turned herself in to gendarmes four days after the incident, which happened on 26 June.

> “I’m ashamed, I regret my stupidity” says spectator who caused Tour de France crash

Dan joined road.cc in 2020, and spent most of his first year (hopefully) keeping you entertained on the live blog. At the start of 2022 he took on the role of news editor. Before joining road.cc, Dan wrote about various sports, including football and boxing for the Daily Express, and covered the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Part of the generation inspired by the 2012 Olympics, Dan has been 'enjoying' life on two wheels ever since and spends his weekends making bonk-induced trips to the petrol stations of the south of England.

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