“The spectator who caused a massive pile-up during the first stage of the Tour de France has been arrested after presenting herself at a police station, a source close to the investigation told Reuters on Saturday. The spectator, a 30-year-old French woman, is in custody at a police station in Landerneau, Brittany, the northwest French region where the Tour de France, the world’s biggest cycling event, held its first four stages.”
“On Saturday, German cyclist Tony Martin was sent tumbling when he rode straight into a cardboard sign being held out by a fan looking the other way at a television camera, creating chaos with 47 kilometres left of the stage.”
“Another huge pile-up occurred in a nervy finale on narrow roads on Monday, leading the Tour de France riders to put their collective foot down one kilometre into the fourth stage on Tuesday – literally – bringing the race to a halt for about a minute in a silent protest for safer racing conditions after the crashes.”
European bicycle and rally racing competitions often seem insane to American viewers, as they are often run on narrow roads, with spectators stepping right out into the roadway, then jumping off to the side as bicyclists or rally drivers coming ripping through at high speed. While exciting for spectators, it may be time for Europeans to start keeping the fans a safer distance from the race course.