- The
cycling fan who caused a mass crash at the 2021Tour de France has been fined twice. - She was given a ceremonial one euro fine, as well as a more substantial $1,350 penalty, at a court hearing Thursday.
An oblivious cycling fan who caused a major pileup during the 2021 Tour de France has been given a fine of 1,200 euros ($1,350), and been ordered to pay a second ceremonial fine of a single euro to France's professional cycling authority, French media reports.
The fan, who has not been named because she received a large amount of online abuse after the incident, faced almost a week of media attention over the summer when she absconded after a rider crashed into a sign she was holding out into the road during the first day of this summer's 3,383 kilometer race.
After the incident, the woman was not located for several days, with speculation she had fled France. It was suggested that she could be imprisoned for a year and given a fine of as much as $18,000 for causing the crash.
—daniel mcmahon (@cyclingreporter) June 26, 2021
As she did so, German rider Tony Martin of the Jumbo-Visma team collided with the sign, causing him to fall. His fall caused a chain reaction, with dozens of cyclists crashing and hitting the floor.
A large number of riders were injured, and one, Jasha Sütterlin of Team DSM, had to abandon the race because of his injuries. One doctor at the scene compared the crash to a war zone.
"It looks like a war zone, the same chaos, the same moans, bodies everywhere and tangled machines," Gilbert Versier, an orthopedic surgeon at the event told French publication L'Equipe.
According to Reuters, which cites the AFP news agency, prosecutors had called for the woman to face four months in prison at a court hearing in the Brittany region of France this week.
Reuters added that the woman said during the hearing that the crash was "really just so unintended."
The 2021 Tour de France was eventually won by Slovenia's Tadej Pogačar for a second year running.