'Sign' fan in custody; Pogacar mounts charge

BREST (France) • The spectator who caused a mass crash of riders on the opening day of the Tour de France has been arrested.

"The woman has been formally identified and she was taken into custody a few minutes ago," a source close to the investigation told Agence France-Presse yesterday.

The state prosecutor for the city of Brest in the region of Brittany, Camille Miansoni, also said "a suspect is in custody".

On Saturday, a woman brandishing a cardboard sign in the path of the peloton caused German rider Tony Martin to fall, who in turn brought down dozens of riders behind him.

The crash held up the race for five minutes while bikes and bodies were untangled as the suspect fled the scene.

The incident, which occurred between Brest and the commune of Landerneau, and a series of crashes on the second and third stages of the race, has angered teams.

The entire peloton staged a symbolic protest, briefly stopping at a prearranged point, at the start of Tuesday's fourth stage.

The suspect is said to be a 30-year-old French national, with another source telling the Daily Mail: "She did not have far to travel to get to the race, and clearly knew how to escape after causing so much damage.

"Numerous witnesses were interviewed, and camera footage was also inspected in order to track the suspect down.

"Now that she has been caught, she has to be questioned at length, to find out exactly what her motives were."

Prosecutors have opened a criminal enquiry for "deliberately violating safety regulations and so causing injuries that might prevent someone working for up to three months".

It is an offence punishable with up to a year in prison and a fine equivalent to just under £13,000 (S$24,150).

Tour organisers have also vowed to sue her "so that the tiny minority of people who do this don't spoil the show for everyone".

Seconds advantage leader Mathieu van der Poel has over Tadej Pogacar.

In yesterday's fifth stage, Slovenian Tadej Pogacar emerged as the overwhelming favourite to retain his title when he destroyed the field to win the 27.2km individual time trial.

The defending champion from UAE Team Emirates clocked the best time of 32min between Change and Laval to beat Swiss Stefan Kung, the European champion, by 18 seconds in the solo effort against the clock.

Dutch Mathieu van der Poel took fifth place to retain the overall leader's yellow jersey, but Pogacar is expected to reclaim it in the coming stages.

His performance was a massive blow to his rivals for the title as 2018 Tour champion and Ineos Grenadiers leader Geraint Thomas ended up 1:18 behind and last year's runner-up Primoz Roglic finished 44sec off the pace.

Pogacar is now second overall, 8sec behind van der Poel while Roglic is 10th, 1:40 down on his compatriot and Thomas 12th, a further 6sec behind.

Another favourite, Richard Carapaz, fell to ninth, 1:36 behind Pogacar.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS