Woman who caused huge Tour de France crash fined £1,000

The incident was described as one of the worst crashes in the cycling event’s history

A French woman has been fined about £1,000 (€1,200) for causing a pile-up at this year’s Tour de France by waving a cardboard sign in the riders’ path.

German rider Tony Martin hit the sign and fell to the ground, causing a crash involving dozens of other riders. The peloton was 45km (28 miles) from the end of the first stage when the crash took place.

The incident has been referred to as one of the worst ever crashes in the tournament’s history. Eight riders were treated for injuries, and two had to pull out of the Tour.

AFP news agency have reported that the woman’s identity has been withheld following online abuse.

A symbolic one euro fine will abe paid to France’s professional cyclist association, UNCP. She has also been ordered to pay £427 (€500) in damages, avoiding a suggested four-month suspended prison sentence.

In footage shared online, the woman can be seen holding a sign with the German names for “granny and granddad” while looking away from the peloton.

Eventually, several people had to pull out of the race, including Spain’s Marc Soler, who broke both arms. Soler placed 21^st in the final general classification of the race’s 2020 edition.

The crash took place between Brest and Landerneau in northwest France and the aftermath lasted for approximately five minutes whilst riders and bikes were cleared.

The woman turned herself into police custody days later. Appearing at a hearing in October, she insisted she did not mean to cause any harm, saying “it was really so unintentional”.

Prosecutor Solenn Briand acknowledged that the woman had recognised “how dangerous” her actions were, according to AFP.

Tour director Christian Prudhomme told reporters in October: “She did something daft, she’s no terrorist,” adding “We just want people to take care when they come to the Tour and remember they are there to see the champions and not to get on television.”