the authorities try to find the spectator at the origin of the fall of the peloton

This is the image we will remember from the first stage of the 2021 big loop, in Landerneau (Finistère), Saturday June 26. A spectator at the side of the road holding up her sign with the writing “Grandpa and Grandma” in German (“Opi” and “omi”). And the impressive fall that followed, 45 kilometers from the finish. The Finistère gendarmerie called for witnesses after this accident, while the spectator had left the scene before the arrival of the investigators. The gendarmerie also announced that a judicial investigation for “unintentional injuries” had been opened.

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The German Tony Martin, who hit this sign, fell and led to the ground, by a domino effect, a good number of runners. As a result of this crash, the German Jasha Sutterlin (DSM) was forced to retire. In the evening, the director of the Tour de France, Christian Prudhomme, was not mad: ” It is unacceptable ! Those who deserve TV are the champions, not that kind of person. If people want to look at each other, to see each other, there are mirrors for that! “

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The Tour de France announces that it has lodged a complaint

Tour organizers Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) told Reuters they had filed a complaint. “We are filing a complaint against this lady who behaved very badly”, said Tour de France deputy director Pierre-Yves Thouault. “Let us ensure that the show that has been offered to us is not marred by unacceptable behavior on the part of a tiny minority of spectators”, added the deputy director of the Tour in charge of security. Pierre-Yves Thouault reminded everyone to strictly respect the rules, in particular to stay on the sides of the road, not to cross the road and not to take selfies.

“The major stake on the Tour remains road safety, it was demonstrated yesterday”, explained Lieutenant-Colonel Joël Scherer. But “I can confirm that there are no injuries in the audience”, continued the liaison officer of the direction of the gendarmerie with ASO.

In addition, another fall, which occurred 7 kilometers from the finish, led to the abandonment of three other riders: the Lithuanian Ignatas Konovalovas (Groupama-FDJ), the French Cyril Lemoine (BB Hotels) and the Spaniard Marc Soler. (Movistar). It was therefore a sore peloton which set off on Sunday at 1:22 p.m. from Perros-Guirec for the second stage towards Mûr-de-Bretagne, with many injured riders. The Tour will end on July 18 on Avenue des Champs-Elysées in Paris.

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The World with Reuters