A woman who caused a major crash on the opening stage of the Tour de France this year has been sanctioned by a French court with a €1,200 fine.
She was also ordered to pay a symbolic €1 to France's professional cyclist association.
The woman faced a fine of up to €15,000 and up to one year in prison, though the prosecutor in the case had asked that a four-month suspended prison sentence be imposed on her as a warning to others.
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The prosecution told the judge in October it was asking that the woman be made an example of and that a four-month prison term be handed down as a “warning sentence”.
Lawyers for the civil parties in the case – including the pro cyclists’ union – had asked for the symbolic €1 in damages to be paid by the women as punishment.
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The woman stepped into the road with a sign that read ‘Go Opi-Omi’ – a greeting for her grandparents in a mix of French and German – during stage 1 of the Tour this year. She had her back to the riders and was hit the Tony Martin (Jumbo Visma), causing a significant crash.
The 31-year-old woman, who lives in Finistère, was prosecuted for “endangering others” and on a charge of “involuntary injuries” resulting in incapacity from work “not exceeding three months”.
