Overview

Tour De France Crash, sometimes referenced with Opi-Omi or Allez Opi Omi, refers to an accident that occurred on the first day of the 2021 Tour de France bicycle race. The crash involved dozens of cyclists and led to many injuries. It was caused by a spectator standing too close to the bikers with a sign that read "Allez Opi-Omi!" (a mix of French and German, translated to "go grandpa-grandma"). Images from the incident have since become exploitables and object-labeling memes on several platforms in late June 2021.

Background

The Tour de France, a popular professional cycling tour, was disrupted on its opening day of June 26th, 2021. A large bike crash occurred when an unnamed 30-year-old woman stepped away from the spectator’s area and into the street to aim a large cardboard sign at the camera, presumably unaware that she was blocking the oncoming bikers. In the process, she inadvertently blocked the path of German biker Tony Martin and sent him crashing to the ground, causing a pile-up.^[1] The crash and its aftermath (seen below) were covered by numerous international news outlets and captured the woman on camera before she disappeared from the scene. This view of the crash was recorded by NBCSports^[2] and received over 2.2 million views as of June 30th.

Shortly after the crash, Twitter user @bubbaprog^[4] posted a 10-second cut of the incident (seen below) and received 21,400 likes and 574 comments within four days. As the video began to trend, the crash itself and the woman with the sign became prevalent in memes.

GREAT TO SEE SPECTATORS BACK INVOLVED IN SPORTS EH pic.twitter.com/Kwxj8be2Qh

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) June 26, 2021

The phrase "Allez Opi-Omi!" from the woman’s sign was a combination of French and German that translates to "Go Grandma and Grandpa!" in English. Her expression of excitement while holding the sign on camera is frequently used in memes, especially as a photoshopped cut-out placed in different disastrous situations. This meme (seen below) by Redditor u/Bootezz was posted on June 27th to /r/memes,^[6] showing the woman in front of the Hindenburg Disaster.

Developments

After the crash, at least one biker dropped out of the tour as a result of the race, and many more were injured. After deciding to continue the tour, the first crash victim, Tony Martin, took to Instagram^[7] to voice his frustration over the incident with this quote (seen below).

To all the people next to the road who think that the Tour de France is a circus, to people who risk everything for a selfie with a 50 km/h fast peloton, to people who think it’s nice to show their naked butt, to drunken people who push us sideways on the climbs, to people who think that it is a good idea to hold a sign into the road while the peloton is passing. I want to ask this of people forcefully: please respect the riders and the Tour de France!

The woman, whose identity is still unknown, is allegedly facing criminal charges. According to authorities, she fled France via plane and had not been seen for several days.^[3] However, on June 30th, 2021, the French police reported she had turned herself in and was in their custody.^[5]

Online Reactions

The community of Tour de France fans quickly found itself flooded by memes relating to the event, and much of the media focus was following the topic more often than the tour itself. On the subreddit /r/tourdefrance,^[8] Redditor u/ruraljuror5678 posted another meme referencing the sign.

On Twitter, memes about the event grew in popularity as the news became more widespread. The account @Cycling_Memes1^[9] posted a meme about the woman’s grandmother and grandfather on June 26th, receiving 478 likes in four days (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References