Tour de France to sue woman who caused crash during first stage
The missing woman who caused a pile-up of dozens of the world's premier cyclists in the first stage of the Tour de France will face a lawsuit for the incident.
French law enforcement agencies are searching for a woman who, on Saturday, clipped German cyclist Tony Martin with a hand-made sign, causing him to fall off his bike and take a large portion of cyclists with him during stage one. Her current whereabouts are unknown.
“We are suing this woman who behaved so badly,” Tour de France Deputy Director Pierre Yves-Thouault said the same day as the crash, according to Agence France-Presse. “We are doing this so that the tiny minority of people who do this don’t spoil the show for everyone.”
FAN’S SIGN CAUSES MAJOR PILEUP AT TOUR DE FRANCE
The unidentified woman, who was seen in a yellow coat, can be seen smiling at television cameras and holding up a cardboard sign that reads “Allez Opi-Omi,” or, “Let’s go, granny-grandaddy,” in a mix of French and German, footage of the race showed.
Martin was uninjured in the crash, according to a post on his Instagram.
“To all the people next to the road who think that the #tourdefrance is a circus,” Martin wrote, “to people who risc [sic] everything for a selfie with a 50 km/h fast peloton, to people who think it's nice to show their naked butt, to drunken people who push us sideways on the climbs, to people who think that it is a good idea to hold a sign into the road while the peloton is passing. I want to ask this people forcefully: please respect the riders and the #tourdefrance!”
“We don't want you here. You risc [sic] our life and our dreams for that we work so hard,” he continued.
In the post, Martin thanked responsible fans for their attendance and support.
One cyclist affected by the crash, Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe, who was the eventual winner of the first stage, had blood dripping from his knee when he crossed the finish line, according to Reuters.
“I hope everyone is OK. I'm calling on the fans to be careful. It's nice to see the fans back on the side of the road, but please be careful,” he said.
The missing woman caused one of two crashes on Saturday, the second of which was not caused by a spectator. Dozens of cyclists were affected by the two crashes.
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Organizers of the race did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
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Tags: News, France, Sports, Bicycles, Germany, injury, lawsuit, Race
Original Author: Charles Hilu
Original Location: Tour de France to sue woman who caused crash during first stage
