Woman at the centre of crash admits ‘stupidity’

The woman at the centre of one of the nastiest crashes in recent memory in the Tour de France has spoken for the first time about an incident she describes as an act of “stupidity”.

Police in Brittany arrested her yesterday, 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 police who tracked her down based on accounts from people.

Local police chief Nicolas Duvinage said that an appeal for witnesses posted on Facebook led to more than 4000 messages, some of which “were verging on incitement to violence”.

The extreme reactions from cycling fans has reportedly left the arrested spectator in a vulnerable state and scared of repercussions, especially from the media.

“The suspect has expressed her feelings of shame and fear about the consequences of her act,” local prosecutor Camille Miansoni told reporters at a press conference in Brest that was broadcast live by some French television channels.

“She said she is worried about the media attention for what she has called her ‘stupidity’,” Miansoni added.

Miansoni said she wanted to send an “affectionate message” to her grandparents.

The fact the spectator has now been arrested and her actions have been widely condemned has led to Tour de France organisers dropping their legal action against her.

Despite the Tour’s decision, local prosecutors are still set to decide whether or not to file charges over the incident where she leaned into the peloton.