Bike racing can be a very dangerous, hard-hitting sport.
But usually that's not because cars are crashing into the riders.
Things got really dangerous on Sunday at one of professional cycling's biggest one-day races, the Tour of Flanders, when reckless driving sent two cyclists crashing to the ground.
(The Tour of Flanders, or the Ronde van Vlaanderen, is one of the biggest sporting events in all of Belgium.)
The first incident happened when a Shimano neutral-service car — which normally provides spare wheels and bikes to riders in need — struck Jessee Sergent, a rider from New Zealand.
Sergent, who rides for the US-based Trek Factory Racing team, was leading a breakaway group when a car tried to squeeze between him and the side of the road.
But there was not enough space to pass, and the car hit Sergent.
The cyclist was sent flying and crashed hard on the ground.
This GIF, via Sporza, shows what happened:
Poor @jessesergent knocked down by car at #RVV. pic.twitter.com/TpRMxb6Dnm
— daniel (@cyclingreporter) April 5, 2015
Sergent's race was suddenly and dramatically over.
His team tweeted that he suffered a broken left collarbone in the crash.
An accident at #RVV knocks another rider to the ground. pic.twitter.com/2zlDd82SRa
— daniel (@cyclingreporter) April 5, 2015The team tweeted that Chavanel suffered a large bruise to his thigh and was going to have more tests. This is what the FDJ team car looked like after getting crashed into:
The biggest victim of the day @FDJ#RVV#failpic.twitter.com/u4FJCiV6ne
— Judy Van Impe (@JudyVanImpe) April 5, 2015
No rider should be hit by the cars that surround them to both protect them and service them.
— Anthony McCrossan (@antmccrossan) April 5, 2015
Based on #RVV tweets, being run over by a team car is a #ridersafety issue greater than wind, heat, but less than rain, snow.
— jasen thorpe (@JasenThorpe) April 5, 2015
Is the Shimano car driver drunk?! #RVVpic.twitter.com/aq9LPmm82S
— Tanja (@bambula) April 5, 2015
I’m just glad we’re not talking about the end of @jessesergent’s career. @BrianCooksonUCI, support cars striking riders is inexcusable #RVV
— Neal Rogers (@nealrogers) April 5, 2015At Shimano we apologize for both incidents the Shimano sponsored neutral caused today at the Tour of Flanders.
We especially apologize to the riders and teams involved, Jesse Sergent of TREK Factory Racing and Sébastien Chavanel of Française des Jeux. We wish them a speedy recovery.
The drivers of the neutral cars are professionals with many years of experience in professional cycling races. We will investigate both incidents deeply and take appropriate action.
@josedecauwer@Vannieuwkerke nieuw bord voor in de koers! #rvvpic.twitter.com/aNL6DzWcXg
— Yves Heylen (@appleduc) April 5, 2015
Chaos at #RVV today. pic.twitter.com/p7LCIZZJYc
— daniel (@cyclingreporter) April 5, 2015Join the conversation about this story »
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