Suspended prison sentence given to Tour de France stage 17 intruder

Stage 17 of the 2025 Tour de France was marred by a reckless act just moments before the sprint finish in Valence. A man tried to ride across the finish line only minutes before the peloton arrived, in wet and slippery conditions that made the situation even more hazardous. The stage was won by Jonathan Milan, but attention quickly turned to the alarming breach of security.

Had it not been for the rapid response from police stationed at the finish, the outcome could have been far worse. Officers tackled the intruder to the ground, preventing any interference with the sprint finish or potential harm to the riders. AFP confirmed that the man was arrested on Wednesday and taken into custody.

Prosecutor Laurent de Caigny said the man was charged with “entering a sports competition area and disrupting the competition, refusing to comply and assaulting a person in a position of public authority." He has been ordered to pay €500 in damages to the police officer who subdued him and received a suspended sentence. In addition, he’s been banned from attending any sports venue for the next five years. The prosecutor also revealed that the individual had previously been convicted three times.

This wasn’t the only disruption seen at this year’s race. Earlier, during Stage 11 in Toulouse, another person ran onto the course near the finish line wearing a protest shirt. While the Tour de France is no stranger to crowd incidents, this year’s race has been particularly affected by politically charged disruptions and lapses in security.