Cyclist stopped on French motorway … as she tried to pay toll on way from Russia to Spain

Cyclists ending up on motorways whether in the UK or abroad is a regular occurrence, as plenty of stories we’ve done here on road.cc show, but here’s a new angle – a woman riding on an autoroute in France was fined by police as she attempted to pay a toll to use the road.

The incident happened on Thursday on the A49 between Grenoble and Valence, with the woman, from Russia and aged in her fifties, spotted on CCTV as she rode along the hard shoulder.

A Gendarmerie patrol was dispatched to intercept her, and found her attempting to pay a toll at the péage in Chatuzange-le-Goubet, reports the Dauphiné Libéré.

The woman, who had ridden for 10 kilometres on the autoroute, was fined 22 euro for her troubles - almost three times the toll that would have been paid by a motorist for the same stretch of road.

Gendarmes put her and her bike into their vehicle and dropped her off at a cycle route in Romans-sur-Isère.

Last month, we reported how Gendarmes had similarly escorted Italian pro cyclist Andrea Guardini off an autoroute in northern France as he tried to find the quickest way to the finish to rejoin his UAE Team Emirates colleagues after abandoning Paris-Roubaix.

> Lost in France – rider ends up on motorway after abandoning Paris-Roubaix (+ video)