French court fines Offredo in bike-car altercation

Yoann Offredo (Wanty Groupe-Gobert) was sentenced Thursday after an altercation with a motorist that happened in April. The court of Evry ordered the French cyclist to pay a total €700 in fines and damages. The driver of the vehicle was also fined €700.

The Frenchman posted photos to social media of his bloody face after what he said was an attack during a training ride. He said on his Facebook page that he was the victim of an assault with a blade and a baseball bat while he was out riding with two friends.

"Result: a fractured nose, a rib in a dirty state and bruises all over the body," he wrote in April. "But beyond physical wounds, I am especially shocked.

"I'm not angry, I'm just sad to find that this beautiful sport that I like, I do not want my kids to practice ... too dangerous. You leave for training in the morning, but you never know if you're going home."

A report in L'Equipe instead suggested that a car had brushed against Offredo and two of his friends, and the altercation got worse.

The judge found that Offredo had assaulted the driver of the car and his passenger. He was sentenced to a €400 suspended fine and €300 in damages, reported Le Parisien.

Another cyclist involved was sentenced to a suspended fine of €200.

The driver of the car and the passenger were also found guilty of wrong doing and sentenced to a suspended fine of €700.