Tour de France 2021 spectator who caused a massive pile-up at Stage 1 goes to trial in Brest

ByEurosport

Published 14/10/2021 at 12:34 GMT

A spectator wiped out nearly the entirety of the peloton in the opening stage of the 2021 Tour de France when she stood out onto the road holding up a sign for the television cameras. The unnamed woman was arrested for her actions and goes on trial on Thursday. The woman is accused of involuntarily causing injury and putting the life of others at risk.

A roadside spectator who caused a mass pile-up at the Tour de France in June has gone to trial on Thursday.

The French woman held a large cardboard sign towards a television camera, standing in the way of oncoming cyclists at Stage 1. Her actions caused Tony Martin (Jumbo-Visma) to crash and created a nasty domino effect.

Wout van Aert, Primoz Roglic (both Jumbo–Visma), Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Victorious) and Marc Soler (Movistar) were just some of the others who crashed.

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The sign read "ALLEZ OPI-OMI!" – which roughly translates as "COME ON GRANDDAD-GRANNY"

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The woman was arrested and will now go on trial in Brest, France. She faces a fine and potentially a jail sentence.

"The public is key to cycling races, it must remain that way, but it must be done with respect for the physical integrity of the riders," said Romuald Palao, a lawyer for the Professional Cyclists' Association CPA, who is party to the trial.

"This case is representative of what can happen with people who want to take centre-stage themselves with pictures, videos. It has to be done with a minimum of common sense and this was not the case there."

A lawyer for the defendant declined to comment on the trial, while the Tour de France withdrew their own lawsuit, saying the case had been blown out of proportion.

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