The spectator who caused a massive pile-up at the Tour de France after holding up a sign for her grandparents in front of the cyclists has been fined £1,000.
The 31-year-old French woman, whose identity has been withheld, was also ordered to pay one symbolic euro to France’s professional cyclist association.
The prosecution had requested a suspended four month sentence for the two charges of endangering life and causing unintentional injury.
A roadside spectator (left) who caused a massive crash in the Tour de France has been fined £1,000
After looking at the cameras on TV, the supporter ran out to look at them and the cyclists rolled into her. It caused an enormous crash.
Race organisers had previously withdrawn their complaint and called for everyone to ‘calm down’ after the woman faced a torrent of abuse.
Under French law she could have faced a fine of up to 15,000 euros (£12,700) and a year in prison for the charges.
Solenn Brind acknowledged her regret and said she had recognized how dangerous her behavior was.
Her own admission to the court was that she was embarrassed by her “stupidity”.
She has no criminal records and had been attending the Tour’s opening stage since June 26th with the aim of getting her sign noticed by TV cameras.
It said “Allez Opi Omi” which are German words for “grandpa, granny”, in a nod towards her German-speaking grandparents, who love the race.
She stepped too far ahead of the peloton, which was racing along narrow roads towards Landerneau in west France.
This massive accident occurred at the Saint-Rivoal summit in Saint-Cadou. The crash was about 30 miles from Brest, the Atlantic port.
In one of the worst Tour crashes, more than 20 Tour riders were injured when the accident created a blockage.
Tony Martin from Germany was too close to her to not be pushed into and fell. Hundreds of other riders were forced to collide with Martin while some evaded the gaze of others.
The video of the accident and the scenes showing medics caring for the stunned or grinning victims caused outrage from fans and race organizers. This was especially true when the women fled instead of helping.
After four days in hiding, she surrendered to the police.
Many riders were forced to withdraw from the race including Marc Soler of Spain, who had broken both his arms.
Julien Bradmetz was the woman’s attorney. He said that his client had “a fragile personality for many decades”.
Riding companions assess the injuries sustained in the accident during the 108th Tour de France 2021.
He said, “This client’s fragility has now increased by tenfold.”
Tony Martin from Germany was the first one to crash. After that, there was an alarming domino effect and a mess of bicycles and bodies.
There were numerous wounds, including ones to Jasha Sütterlin, another German rider, who had to pull out of the entire contest.
Gilbert Versier (a three-star surgeon on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq) said that the accident’s aftermath resembled a battle zone.
Versier, a French newspaper L’Equipe, stated that the scene looked almost like a battlefield, with all the same chaos, moans and bodies, and the same tangled machines.
The only thing you can imagine is so much destruction. The runners are getting up in the middle of all the chaos and want to get back on their feet. It is important that the worst cases be identified.
This crash was referred to as the most devastating in Tour de France history, and is currently in its 108th installment.
One of the cyclists, Swiss star Marc Hirschi, found himself thrown into the nearby hedges and he dislocated his shoulder
“In general these are those who have been thrown and are therefore the furthest away from the accident site.
Christian Prudhomme, Director of the Tour, took a conciliatory stand on the case.
She did nothing wrong, and she was not terrorist. “We just want people not to forget that the Tour is about the champions. We are asking them to have fun,” he said to reporters.