Tour de France Crash

[Chicoryhickory]

I'm really feeling for that woman who held up the sign and caused the crash. I know she was too close but it was an accident and now they're threatening jail. I bet she's scared to death..

I don't follow cycling generally, but I don't know how you can have any sympathy for her.

Of course it wasn't a split second decision - she's clearly made the sign beforehand, planning to lean out into the road when the camera came by. If she knows enough about cycling, or the TdF to have made the sign and got to the right place at the right time, then she knows enough to not encroach onto the road where hundreds of cyclists are racing past at speed

I hope she is prepared to be sued for damages by all the Teams and all the riders she has hurt, too.

It has happened before - people let dogs run across the road and get too close to riders. Every year there will be an incident. But what's unusual here is the fact she planned to do this, the sheer size of the pile up she caused, the impact it has had on the 4 riders who have had to drop out, as well as the impact on the overall race standings. Many of the big names lost a lot of time.

I kind of agree OP. The girl was an idiot but at the speed they are going this is not just an issue for the athletes, its also a potential hazard to spectators.

That wasn't the only crash that day. There was a second one where two tiny children nearly got hammered by a series of flying bikes on what should have been a relatively safe portion of the track (a straight line).

They need to rethink the spectator control and overall safety on this.

And to those saying its not possible. Well they manage it with the rallys covering vast km so I dont see why they cant with cycling.

Just watched the clip. Her stupid face with that smug smile. God.
She has caused a lot of injuries to a lot of people. Ruined expensive bike equipment then fucking ran off.
She deserves all that's coming to her.

The thread is about being worked about seeing her suffer rather than the damage caused, a point I've addressed.

I have known people capable of this while in a manic episode. Clever and sometimes cunning enough to cause mayhem, with a crucial piece of logic missing.

Like I said, I don't think this is the person Europe should be putting in the stocks, taken in the round.

If there's an incident every year then all the more reason for organisers to share accountability. There will always be an idiot. They are not idiots. They must plan for this.

I suspect this wasn’t quite the 15 minutes of fame that she was after.

I do feel sorry for her. She must be terrified.

But I feel sorrier for the cyclists. They must have been frightened too. Not to mention the injuries.

There was a second one where two tiny children nearly got hammered by a series of flying bikes on what should have been a relatively safe portion of the track (a straight line).

Good grief.

What are the organisers thinking?

I don't think the argument of "but others have done worse" stands up really.

Where would that end?

She made a selfish decision that caused injury to many people.

People get charged for accidently causing fires that get out of hand, car crashes as a result of selfish behaviour etc.

She absolutely should be charged.

Horehound "Her stupid face with that smug smile"

Another reason i thought it might be deliberate.

@AfterSchoolWorry

She's a moron. All she cared about was getting her gormless face on tv. I haven't one jot of sympathy for the stupid gobshite.

You can't go about in life like an irresponsible child oblivious to those around you. It was only luck that someone wasn't killed. One of the riders had his neck ridden over.

She ran off after the fact and so far hasn't turned herself in. The absolute selfishness is despicable.

I can't say it any better than this...

Charging her will hopefully stop the idiots on the hill climbs running along side in costume or waving flags so close that they only move 1m from the rider seemingly breaking through the crowds.

Oliver899

Its quite incredible to watch actually. I just watched in awe at how the womens first instinct is to stand directly in danger to save and shield their children first and foremost. Two women did exactly the same thing picking their children up and dragging them behind them within the split seconds of madness.

Its where most of the injuries happened (ie. the guy with two broken arms).
cyclingtips.com/2021/06/21-riders-were-injured-on-stage-1-of-the-tour-de-france/

So yes I do blame the organisers too. If those children got hit they could have died.

It was basically a hit and run. Many of those are accidental. We don't then say it's ok that people left the scene rather than staying and facing the consequences.

@NotTheFunKindOfFeminist

What law has she broken?

@NotTheFunKindOfFeminist

French police say they have launched a criminal investigation.
They aim to charge the woman with "deliberately violating safety regulations and causing injuries that might prevent someone working for up to three months".

Maximum penalty is a year in prison.

@NigellaSeed

Blimey that's nuts. I've only read about this on MN - checked the guardian and it didn't seem to be there at all?? Sounds like front page news though

www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jun/27/tour-de-france-latest-crash-caused-by-a-fan-is-another-on-a-long-list

lemon Hats off to those women.

Difficult Not arguing with you there. Charge her by all means but also look at the bigger picture in terms of risk and no this is not something that someone should take their own life over, which can happen so easily when the media finds someone this easy to hate. She is the most aggravating person I've seen in ages.

@LemonSwan
And to those saying its not possible. Well they manage it with the rallys covering vast km so I dont see why they cant with cycling

They're not comparable.
Wales Rally GB is 318 km
Rally Catalunya is 325 km
This year's Tour de France is 3,414 kilometres

Also rallies tend to be off-road in rural environments.
The Tour de France goes through towns and villages. High risk areas are barriered, but you can't barrier off the whole route.

I'd invite anyone who thinks it's dangerous for the public to attend the TdeF to watch footage of the TT on the Isle of Man. Now that is bonkers.
Tour de France is much more dangerous for the riders than it is for spectators.

The race covers thousands of miles in 3 weeks. It simply isn't possible to put barriers up along the whole route. The organisers rely on the spectators being able to behave sensibly.
As a comparison, we have thousands of miles of roads in the UK, most of which have no barriers between cars and pedestrians, because we rely on everyone knowing how to behave. We still have accidents, and the people who cause them are usually prosecuted.
This woman caused an accident, probably not maliciously, but being stupid is not an acceptable defence in a court of law.

The woman’s a fucking idiot!
I don’t feel sorry for her, she ran off, obviously done on purpose

L0bstersLass

The rally is held over 4 days so we are talking similar distances on a per day basis. I agree the rally is more rural, but if anything thats a reason for conducting better crowd control on the tour when in villages.

They dont barrier all of the Rally course (or any of it really - its actually tape) . They provide safe areas for spectators and so thats where spectators go, as they also want to be safe.

Some people go off piste but they have cars screening the route, screaming at people and tipping off marshals/ burly security men who walk the whole track telling people off who are not in designated areas and too close to the track.

Theres no need for those spectators to be where they are. The expectation should be that they are way further back and its on organisers to organise that and set precedents for people to follow.

And I know everyone is going to be like 'its not possible blah blah, ruins it etc.' - we had that with the rally too. And it turned out to be fine and doable. Its just a culture/ expectation shift.

And no one would be arguing about this if one or both of those little kids had died today.

@hellocleveland

I am a massive cycling fan. The TDF is the highlight of my year and we've travelled to many stages.

This woman is no fan. It wasn't a split second decision when she saw the camera. I still can't get over the fact that someone would wait for hours by the side of the road just to wave a sign for a split second in front of the camera.

It caused absolute carnage. Lots of riders today had visible wounds and bandages. It was a horrendous decision on her part and she should be made accountable.

It is impossible to cordon off/barrier the whole route. Marshalls/police can only do so much. This is one of the biggest sporting events of the year. It's free and you get to see world class elite athletes within touching distance. Thankfully the vast majority are sensible and respectful. This has highlighted what can happen when someone behaves in such a thoughtless manner. She had to be made an example of.

This.

They should throw the bloody book at her

The tour has had spectators jumping out with signs so they can be on the camera for years.

The riders hate it, obviously.

Sometimes they have to swerve etc.

This woman was at a sports event, went in the path of the competitors and made loads of them crash, with serious injuries resulting.

Yes she needs consequences.

If it were show jumping event and a spectator stepped in front of the horse making it startle stumble and fall, and be injured. Would you feel sorry for the spectator?

If mo Farrah was running a marathon and a spectator stepped out, tripped him and he broke his legs. Ok?

If someone was pole vaulting and s spectator ran in front making them lose concentration and fall from a height breaking their arms. Ok?

Etc etc etc

@LemonSwan

I've been to rallies and I've been to the TdeF. You're not comparing the same things.

When it goes through villages it goes straight past people's front doors. People open their doors and stand on their doorstep, or if the pavement is wide enough they sit in a deck-chair. You can't have them being screamed at.

Spectators have sadly died at the Tour in the past, but they've been hit by vehicles not by the cyclists. Everything in life has risks associated with it. The likelihood of a spectator being killed by a bicycle at the Tour is pretty much nil.

@hellocleveland

I am a massive cycling fan. The TDF is the highlight of my year and we've travelled to many stages.

This woman is no fan. It wasn't a split second decision when she saw the camera. I still can't get over the fact that someone would wait for hours by the side of the road just to wave a sign for a split second in front of the camera.

It caused absolute carnage. Lots of riders today had visible wounds and bandages. It was a horrendous decision on her part and she should be made accountable.

It is impossible to cordon off/barrier the whole route. Marshalls/police can only do so much. This is one of the biggest sporting events of the year. It's free and you get to see world class elite athletes within touching distance. Thankfully the vast majority are sensible and respectful. This has highlighted what can happen when someone behaves in such a thoughtless manner. She had to be made an example of.

100% agree.

She should absolutely be held accountable for the damage she has done. The stupidity of what she did is off the charts. Unbelievable.