A woman who caused a massive pile-up during the first stage of the Tour de France has been arrested after turning herself in at a police station.

The spectator, a 30-year-old French woman, was in custody at a police station of Landerne in Brittany, northwestern France, where the first four stages of the world’s biggest cycling race, the Tour de France, are held.

The spectator was charged with manslaughter and endangering the lives of others.

On Saturday, German cyclist Tony Martin was sent tumbling when he rode straight into a cardboard sign that had been placed on the road by a fan watching from a camera, causing chaos 47 kilometres from the finish.

A nerve-wracking finish on narrow roads was marked by another serious collision on Monday, forcing the Tour de France riders to put their foot down – literally – on the fourth kilometre of Tuesday’s stage and end the race after about a minute of silent protest over safer racing conditions following the collisions.

Wednesday’s fifth stage is a 27.2km individual time trial from Change to Laval, where all eyes will be on the overall contenders.