The organisers of the Tour de France cycling race have dropped their complaint against a woman accused of causing one of the worst crashes in its history by standing in the path of riders while brandishing a cardboard sign, leading to two competitors having to pull out of the competition and injuries to eight others.
A woman suspected of being the person who caused a major crash of riders on the Tour de France cycling race by entering their path to hold up a cardboard banner message, and who police have spent four days trying to find, has been taken into custody in Brittany.
A spectator holding a large sign had their back to the cyclists with the sign sticking out into the road at handlebar height and cyclist Tony Martin hit the sign, triggering the crash on Saturday's stage 1 of the 3-week event.
Jean Castex, who will still self-isolate ahead of a second test, came in contact with in contact with the boss of the Tour de France, who had tested positive for coronavirus.
The prestigious Tour de France cycling race, due to be held over three weeks this summer, has been postponed, probably until September, organisers said on Tuesday, following President Emmanuel Macron's announcement on monday that no major public gatherings will be allowed before mid-July.
Egan Bernal, 22, became the first Colombian to win the gruelling and prestigious three-week Tour de France cycle race on Sunday, and the youngest rider to win it in 110 years, while Australian Caleb Ewan came first in the traditional sprint finish on the Champs-Elysées.
The 32-year-old Team Sky rider came first at the end of the gruelling three-week Tour de France in Paris on Sunday, 11 years after he first took part in the race and came 140th out of 141 competitors, with Dutch rider Tom Dumoulin in second place followed by Britain's Chris Froome, the earlier favourite and four-times winner of the Tour, in third position.
Police used tear gas to disperse farmers protesting about the loss of rights for agricultural land who blocked the Tour de France stage on Tuesday with bales of hay and sheep, but the spread of the gas vapours meant several riders needed medical treatment from the doctor’s car at the rear of the peloton.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who for several days has dodged answering questions about his security advisor Alexandre Benalla caught on video assaulting May Day demonstrators, has cancelled a public appearance with crowds along the Tour de France cycle race scheduled for Wednesday, while his interior minister Gérard Collomb was quizzed by MPs about the May 1st events.
The 32-year-old British cyclist came in 54 seconds ahead of Rigoberto Urán at the end of the final stage of the race into Paris where the convoy of one of the most prestigious cycling races in the world was routed through the Grand Palais with the riders racing under the famous glass roof, originally erected in 1897 for the universal exposition at the turn of the century.
As the Tour de France gets underway, Mediapart has examined the way that key figures in the world of cycling minimise their tax payments by putting money earned from image rights into companies based in Cyprus, Switzerland or Luxembourg. Some major names such as the Belgian cyclist Philippe Gilbert and the French star Tony Gallopin have taken advantage of this tax route. Antton Rouget reports.
