Tour de France organizers withdraw lawsuit against careless fan

CHATEAUROUX, France (AP) -Tour de France organizers have withdrawn their lawsuit against a spectator who caused a massive crash on the first stage.

Organizers made the decision in a bid to defuse the situation after the careless spectator was placed in custody, race spokesperson Fabrice Tiano said on Thursday.

Gendarmes in Brittany arrested her on Wednesday, four days after the accident brought down dozens of riders and forced German rider Jasha Sutterlin to abandon the race.

The spectator brandished a large cardboard sign while leaning into the path of oncoming riders. She appeared to be looking in the other direction, apparently at a camera, and not at the approaching peloton.

The woman, not publicly identified, was arrested in the Finistere region by gendarmes who tracked her down based on accounts from people questioned this week, France Bleu Finistere radio said, citing a source close to the probe.

She leaned into the path of veteran rider Tony Martin, whose fall had a domino effect on the peloton.

Meanwhile, Mark Cavendish claimed the sixth stage of the Tour de France in a mass sprint on Thursday, taking his impressive career tally to 32 stage wins at cycling's biggest race.

Cavendish, the best sprinter in the race history, is second on the all-time list for the most stage wins behind Belgian great Eddy Merckx on 34.

It was Cavendish's second stage win this year after the 36-year-old veteran took Stage 4 on Tuesday.

Cavendish was led out in the final stretch by his Deceuninck-Quick Step teammates and edged Jasper Philipsen and Nacer Bouhanni. Mathieu van der Poel kept the race leader's yellow jersey with an eightsecond lead over defending champion Tadej Pogacar.