Tim de Waele/Getty Images
There are bad days, and then there’s getting bitch slapped by a dude in spandex shorts and the video being streamed all over the world.
That’s the day a spectator had at the Giro d’Italia on Saturday as he single-handedly derailed 25-year-old cyclist Miguel Angel Lopez’s chances of securing the young rider’s classification jersey when he collided with him during the penultimate leg of the 21-day segmented race.
The fan was running alongside Lopez on the side of the road in the final three miles of the 20th stage when he crossed paths with the Colombian cyclist, sending Lopez over the handlebars.
Cameras captured Lopez whacking the fan a couple times in the head, sending his hat flying before getting back on his bike.
https://twitter.com/betmybookie/status/1134937913022590976
Lopez ended up losing about 30 seconds of time and finished 18th on stage 20. He crossed the finish line 1:49 after the race winner.
After the race, Lopez expressed regret for the incident to the AP:
“I’m sorry for what happened. I was full of pure adrenaline. But there needs to be more respect for the cyclists.”