JAKARTA - A French woman has been fined 1,200 euros or around Rp. 19,477,674 for causing a major accident at the Tour de France by waving a cardboard sign in the lane of motorists.
The main driver group (the peloton) were 45 kilometers from the end of the first stage of the 2021 Tour de France, when the woman's sign hit Germany's Tony Martin.
Inevitably, the rider immediately fell to the ground and caused dozens of other riders to follow him, in one of the worst accidents ever to happen in one of the prestigious cycling tournaments.
The 31-year-old was also ordered to pay a symbolic fine of one euro to the French association of professional cyclists.
The identity of the woman, who was a spectator at the elite race, has been kept secret after she became the target of criticism online, the AFP news agency reported, as quoted by the BBC 10 December.
Video footage of the incident, which took place in June, has been widely shared online.
The woman is seen holding a sign that reads "grandmother and grandfather" in German. He looked away from the platoon coming towards him and did not see them approaching, holding his sign too close to the road.
The collision stopped the race, which was taking place between Brest and Landerneau in northwest France, for five minutes, while the bike and rider were unraveled and cleared from the road.
As a result of the accident, two riders had to end their participation in the prestigious cycling race. Meanwhile, eight other riders were treated for injuries.
Several people ended up having to withdraw from the race, including Spaniard Marc Soler, who broke both hands. Meanwhile, the woman turned herself in to police custody a few days later.
Prosecutors had previously requested a suspended four-month prison term for the woman, accusing her of endangering life and causing unintentional injury.
In court, prosecutor Solenn Briand said the woman had expressed remorse and acknowledged how dangerous she was during the race.
Interestingly, since the collision incident occurred, the director of this prestigious race Christian Prudhomme has taken a conciliatory stance.
"He did something crazy, he's not a terrorist. We just want people to be careful when they come to the Tour, and remember they are there to see the champions and not to be on television."
The worst Tour de France crash I've ever seen pic.twitter.com/1jngQE1pYg
— daniel mcmahon (@cyclingreporter) June 26, 2021
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