A fan with a sign, facing the wrong way on the road at the Tour de France, has caused a massive crash, derailing almost the entire Peloton. Source / Sky Sport
The woman at the centre of a horror Tour de France crash has performed a dramatic vanishing act as riders staged a symbolic protest to back up a call for safer stage finishes and road security after a series of pile-ups marred the opening days of famous bike race.
French publication Ouest-France is reporting not only did the woman — who is German — flee the scene of the crash, she has also fled the country and remains untraceable.
Shortly after the start of the 150km flat run from Redon to Fougeres the entire peloton came to a stop for a brief period, before setting off again at a leisurely pace for the next 10km in a show of solidarity.
Tuesday's stage featured four serious falls with Australian sprinter Caleb Ewan pulling out after breaking his collarbone in four places, former champion Geraint Thomas dislocating his shoulder and 2020 runner-up Primoz Roglic ending his day covered in grazes.
Those horror scenes followed a traumatic opening day on the weekend. There were two major falls to start the event, the first of which was caused by a roadside spectator with over half the peloton coming down in a spectacular domino effect.
Holding a sign and wanting to get in front of motorbike TV cameras, the clueless fan had no idea a horde of riders was coming her way.
German rider Tony Martin brushed past the woman and was knocked off balance racing near the head of the peloton, and when he fell it caused a horrifying domino effect ending in a tangle of bikes and bodies.
At least 26 riders were injured on day one of the Tour.
Riders have taken matters into their own hands while the spectator who caused a horrific Tour de France pile-up also took drastic action. Photo / Twitter
Race organisers told AFP they intend to sue the woman while French Police have launched a probe and appealed for witnesses to come forward because they want to track her down. Reports indicate authorities want to charge her with "unintentional short-term injury through a manifestly deliberate breach of a duty of safety or care".
A surgeon working at the Tour de France described the scenes after the horrific crash during the first stage as resembling a "war zone".
Gilbert Versier, a three-star general who has previously operated in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been an orthopaedic surgeon at the world's most prestigious cycling event for 11 years and was shocked by what he saw on the opening day.
"It looks like a war zone, the same chaos, the same moans, bodies everywhere and tangled machines," Versier told French publication L'Equipe.
"You can't imagine so much damage. In the midst of the commotion, the riders getting up and wanting to start again, the most serious cases must be identified.
"In general, these are the ones who are furthest from the accident site, because they have been thrown."
Meanwhile, Mark Cavendish broke down and wept after sprinting to his first Tour de France stage victory in five years on Wednesday (AEST), taking his tally of wins to 31 in the world's greatest bike race.
Cavendish only made the Deceuninck Tour de France roster after Irish sprinter Sam Bennett pulled out at the last minute.
The signs looked good early on in the fourth stage when Cavendish won the intermediate sprint, his maximum 70-point gain on the day handing him the green jersey awarded to the sprint points leader.
Known as the "Manx Missile", the rider from the Isle of Man shook his head in disbelief as he pulled on the jersey.
"It's been five years too long," said Cavendish, who inched closer to Belgian cycling legend Eddie Merckx's record of 34 individual stage wins between 1969-75.
"There has been a lot of talk about my condition and I hope this gives hope to people in my condition," added the 36-year-old, who was diagnosed in 2017 with the Epstein-Barr virus, which can cause persistent fatigue.
Conversely there was heartbreak for Belgian rookie Brent Van Moer as the 23-year-old Lotto rider was caught just 150m from the finish line after leading an escape for the majority of the attack.
