Cycling: Spectator to face trial in October over Tour de France race crash

Cycling - Tour de France - Stage 3 - Lorient to Pontivy - France - June 28, 2021. Bahrain Victorious rider Marco Haller of Austria receives medical attention after a crash. [REUTERS/Anne-Christine Poujoulat/File Photo]

The spectator accused of having caused a massive pile-up during the first stage of the Tour de France cycling race in Brittany will face trial on Oct. 14, the local prosecutor's department said on Friday.

The spectator, a 30-year-old Frenchwoman, is being sued for involuntarily causing injury and putting the life of others at risk, the prosecutor also said in a statement.

She was arrested and placed in custody on Wednesday after presenting herself at a police station in Brittany.

The spectator was holding a cardboard sign and facing away from the cyclists at a television camera as they passed. German rider Tony Martin was sent tumbling when he rode straight into the sign, and a large number of other riders came down in the ensuing pile-up.

Local prosecutor Camille Miansoni told a news conference on Thursday that the woman had no police or justice records and expressed fear and shame after what she said was a moment of "idiocy".