PARIS: A French woman who caused a massive pile-up during the first stage of this year's Tour de France cycling race must pay a fine of 1,200 euros ($1,358.04), a court in Brittany ruled on Thursday, according to media reports.

The spectator was holding a cardboard sign, facing towards a television camera and with her back to the cyclists as they passed. German rider Tony Martin collided with the sign and fell off his bicycle, with dozens more riders falling as they rode into him.

The sign read: "Allez Opi, Omi," a combination of French and German words which means: "Go on Grandpa and Grandma."

A fan just caused a MASSIVE crash at the very beginning of the Tour De France ???? pic.twitter.com/6q5TwQRBdU

— Blake Harms (@wxblakeharms) June 26, 2021

The scene grabbed headlines around the globe.

The woman was also ordered to pay one symbolic euro to France's professional cyclist association, France's AFP news agency reported.

The woman, who turned herself in days after the crash, had been sued for involuntarily causing injury and putting the lives of others at risk. Prosecutors had called for a four-month suspended jail sentence.

In the courtroom, French media cited the woman as saying that the incident was "really just so unintended." With her sign, she intended to send a greeting to her grandparents who are big fans of the Tour, newspaper Le Parisien said.

(Reuters)