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

CPA hopes profile of court case, which starts tomorrow, will reinforce safety message to fans

Professional ​cyclists’ union the CPA has called for the woman who caused a huge crash on the opening day of this year’s Tour de France when she waved a sign at a TV camera as the riders approached to be made to pay token compensation of €1 when the court case opens tomorrow.

Dozens of riders were brought down after Jumbo-Visma’s Tony Martin, riding on the right-hand side of the peloton, crashed when he was struck by the sign held by the 31-year-old, who initially fled the scene but turned herself into police four days later.

Three riders – Cyril Lemoine of B&B Hotels, Groupama-FDJ’s Ignatas Konovalovas and Team DSM’s Jasha Sütterlin – could not continue in the race, while a fourth, Movistar’s Marc Soler, failed to start the second stage due to injuries sustained in the crash.  

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

The woman is due to appear in court in Brest tomorrow on charges of endangering others and causing unintentional injury resulting in inability to work for no more than three months, reports Ouest France. If found guilty, she could face a fine of up to €15,000 and a year’s imprisonment.

The CPA has joined itself as a civil party to the proceedings, saying that “The task of a trade union is to defend its members,” and that it “has taken on this case not for compensation but to raise awareness of the need to respect athletes in the performance of their profession.”

“The damage suffered by the riders is physical, moral and economic,” CPA president Gianni Bugno said.

“An athlete prepares months for a grand tour and it is not acceptable that all his hard work, that of his family, his staff and his team should be shattered in an instant by the quest for popularity of those who should attend the event without becoming the protagonist.

“We are sure that the spectator did not intentionally want to harm anyone, but with her carelessness she compromised the health and the season of more than one of our members,” he continued.

“The one euro compensation we have asked for does not pay for the fracture of both arms of Marc Soler nor for the consequences suffered by Tony Martin and the other riders who ended up on the ground, but it has a symbolic value,” Bugno added.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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11 comments

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wtjs | 2 years ago
0 likes

She's guilty. A proper penalty is required- not just a warning because she 'didn't mean to do it', which is likely what she would get in the UK because only cyclist were harmed in the incident.

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Captain Badger replied to wtjs | 2 years ago
1 like

wtjs wrote:

She's guilty. A proper penalty is required- not just a warning because she 'didn't mean to do it', which is likely what she would get in the UK because only cyclist were harmed in the incident.

So are the organisers. They failed to take any action to prevent this occurrence, even though similar incidents had been played out again, and again and again, most of which (this included) were thoroughly avoidable

This is a witch hunt.

Avatar
wtjs replied to Captain Badger | 2 years ago
2 likes

So are the organisers. They failed to take any action to prevent this occurrence

Looks like we're not going to agree on this, especially the 'failed to take any action'. Individuals are responsible for their actions. Reasonable people would fear that their actions would injure people hurtling past at 50 kph. The fact that many TdF spectators are unthinking and stupid should not deter prosecutors from seeking just punishment of those who have been caught causing injury.

Avatar
Flintshire Boy | 2 years ago
8 likes

Terrible headline! Reads that SHE was asking for £1 compensation!

'Tour de France fan who caused huge crash asked for €1 compensation'

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chocim replied to Flintshire Boy | 2 years ago
3 likes

Prostitutes appeal to Pope!

Avatar
Rendel Harris replied to Flintshire Boy | 2 years ago
2 likes

Flintshire Boy wrote:

Terrible headline! Reads that SHE was asking for £1 compensation!

'Tour de France fan who caused huge crash asked for €1 compensation'

As the case has yet to be heard, the part of the headline you quote is perfectly correct; if it was reporting an historic event it would have the meaning you infer, but as it refers to a future unresolved event it would only be incorrect if it read "Tour de France fan who caused huge crash asks for €1 compensation." She is the object of the verb, not the subject. Admittedly, as mdavidford notes, the preposition should be "by" not "from".

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Flintshire Boy replied to Rendel Harris | 2 years ago
0 likes

Ped. Ant.

Much?

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Rendel Harris replied to Flintshire Boy | 2 years ago
3 likes

You're the one who brought it up, sorry if you can't handle being politely corrected.

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stomec replied to Flintshire Boy | 2 years ago
3 likes

Flintshire Boy wrote:

Ped. Ant.

Much?

I think that should be Pedant.

(sorry)

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mdavidford | 2 years ago
5 likes

Headline seems to have confused 'from' and 'by'. As it stands, it suggests that the fan asked the CPA to pay her €1, which would be a rather odd request.

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brooksby | 2 years ago
1 like

Y'know, I'd completely forgotten about this one!

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