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
Great point, I see this upwards shift in the price of 105 (Di2) as opening the door to Campagnolo to spec more groupsets with OEM's. Hitting that...
It sounds like they're incompossible.
You'll be asking if he's got a watching licence next!
Marketers?
Lock it in
I suspect the sudden change in wheelbase at the handover would make cornering interesting, but not impossible. Might limit speed and how sharply it...
Well done for spotting the danger and avoiding a collision and thank you for taking the time and trouble to submit it to the police....
I think you need to really really careful. If work finds out you have a diagnosed injury that you havent told them (I'm assuming you havent) about...
Unless you're confident enough to take the middle lane early, you'll end up stuck on the far left trying to move over (as I see regularly happening...