what would you do if you caused a huge crash in the Tour de France

[AbsolutelyPatsy]

www.independent.co.uk/sport/cycling/tour-de-france-crash-fan-sign-sue-b1873499.html
i know i know it is old news now,

but i think i would flee the country also

@safariboot

I'll be honest, I would probably leave France and lie low. If the Tour organisers find me they intend to make me bankrupt. (Considering anyone short of a multi millionaire will not be able to pay for that many wrecked bikes and injured riders).

Hopefully she will have a “assurance de responsabilité civile” (which covers accidents and damages one causes to others through negligence or carelessness, often included in one’s home insurance in France). That’s if she’s French or living in France. I don’t know if there’s an equivalent in other countries.

Feel terrible for her, I’m sure she’s as mortified as anyone would be. Poor woman.

People on here are far too harsh, calling her a clown and so on. She made a mistake. I feel nothing but sorry for her.

Yeah I’ve never been to ‘The Tour’ (lmfao) because I’d rather scrub the floors with a toothbrush than spend down time watching a group of middle class white men being paid loads of money to ride a bike faster than someone else

If she just made a mistake why run and hide?
None of the threats or anything were made at the time of the crash so why wouldn't you hang around and come forward? Why would your first instinct be to run and stay away?

She has poor values and clearly doesn't give a shit about anyone else but herself.

@Blueeyedgirl21

A jail sentence is a joke Coz some men fell of their bikes come on

Would you be so meh if someone deliberately jumped out in front of your car and caused you broken bones and loss of income?

And no I cannot appreciate cycling as a sport it’s a misogynistic boring attempt at giving the French something to be good at

Most of the cyclists aren't French.

@Youdiditanyway

Feel terrible for her, I’m sure she’s as mortified as anyone would be. Poor woman.

@iklboo

And no I cannot appreciate cycling as a sport it’s a misogynistic boring attempt at giving the French something to be good at

Most of the cyclists aren't French.

And football AKA the World Cup?

I must admit, I can't watch road cycling and not assume the winner is on drugs. Too much history of it in the sport.

Looks like a road user hit a pedestrian. She ought to sue.

@Moonmelodies

Looks like a road user hit a pedestrian. She ought to sue.

On what basis? How on earth could the cyclist in question have avoided her, short of riding straight into the crowd at the side of the road?

Looks like a road user hit a pedestrian. She ought to sue.

I'll try that next time I stand on the M6 gawping at a traffic camera.

Serious question, was there any talk of pressing charges against the guy who threw urine at a cyclist in the tour a few years ago. I know it didn’t cause a major crash like this incident but surely there could have been something they could have gone after him for. This woman, stupid as it was, made a mistake, the urine throwing was an intentional act to cause a rider harm

I don’t follow cycling but to me it does seem like it’s not so much the accident they want to go after her for, more the fact it happened on the first stage. If they’d been 2 weeks in and everyone apart from the die-hards had lost interest the organisers would have been glad of the publicity.

don’t follow cycling but to me it does seem like it’s not so much the accident they want to go after her for, more the fact it happened on the first stage. If they’d been 2 weeks in and everyone apart from the die-hards had lost interest the organisers would have been glad of the publicity.

If you think it’s just the die-hands following the Tour by week three you’re right, you don’t follow cycling….

I think it’s gone high profile because unlike the throwing of a bottle of wee you refer to what thisspectator did was potentially lethal…I think the organisers had no choice but to pursue this if for no other reason than to discourage others from doing the same over the next few weeks.

…But that aside what a great stage win today…..

@Justanotherlurker

It is stupid but no one died. Not sure it warrants a criminal record.

Thats an extreme take that shows a total lack of understanding.

Its all about sodding money.

As is all sport, to look past that, you obviously don't appreciate the sport and lack of money in it, she acted irresponsibly, she wasn't actually there for the sport but for her own 5 seconds of fame and instagram likes.

I take those points having seen what happened. I thought it was maybe 3 riders knocked over so I couldn't understand the weight of response, but I get it now. Obviously it should not happen to even 1 rider who has trained to be there but my point was that it seemed a bit strong thinking it was not as big.

TdF riders did a brief go slow protest (or rather, a complete stop) protest today. About safety. The organisers don't want bad publicity, the riders don't want avoidable hazards.

Apparently she has been arrested.

@SnuggledUpInABlanket

Apparently she has been arrested.

Yep, just starting to see that reported in French sources, e.g.

www.lequipe.fr/Cyclisme-sur-route/Actualites/La-spectatrice-a-l-origine-de-la-chute-lors-de-la-premiere-etape-du-tour-de-france-placee-en-garde-a-vue/1267041

@SnuggledUpInABlanket

Apparently she has been arrested.

Good.

She's a fucking idiot and I hope the police find her. For all you saying it was a mistake etc, how would you feel if you had been training for years to enter the TdF and you ended up injured in the pile up?

I hope her name is kept out of the press. No good will come from a witch hunt.

Well she should have civil responsibility insurance if she's French and I think she might just need it!

@iklboo well put, no French rider has won for 36 years.

We were once stopped at a roadblock in France for a tour de France pre event leg. It took us a while to work out what was going on - I learnt a lot of new French that day - but we eventually realised we just had to sit it out. For about 3 hours various different people went past. Advertisers, support cars, people cycling!, the wait just went on and on and on. One French guy got so uptight, he actually picked the road barrier up and threw it over a fence, but a group of others then stood in front of his car to stop him moving and collected the barrier and replaced it.

Eventually the Peloton passed in a whoosh of speed, and that was it. We hadn't had any notice they were that close. Nothing more. Barrier raised. Off we went.

Yes, she was stupid and I've not seen the footage of how close she was to actually seeing them coming. But if she had our experience she possibly didn't do it on purpose. She saw the cameras and jumped out having been stood there for ages watching nothing of any interest.

However if it were me I wouldn't have fled and I'd have been in tears trying to help, uselessly.