iStockphoto
There are plenty of ways things can go wrong for cyclists over the course of a race, and the last thing you want to do is fly off your bike while you’re speeding down the course. Unfortunately, that’s the fate a number of competitors suffered in Germany after a woman on a mobility scooter triggered a chain reaction after making her way onto the road.
Most people become intimately familiar with the pain that comes with falling off a bicycle when they’re figuring out how to ride one as a kid, and the potential pitfalls of crashing tend to be amplified for adults who risk falling victim to the repercussions of faster speeds and the increased distance to the ground.
People who possess the level of cycling talent you need to compete in an actual race may be able to benefit from the experience that comes with training countless hours to get to that point, and while they may be less predisposed to crashes than casual pedalers, there’s only so much they can do to avoid the various issues they may encounter on the course.
There have been a number of incidents that can be traced back to spectators who got a bit too close to the action while posting up on the side of the road, and we were treated to a new entry in that particular canon due to what unfolded in Germany on Sunday.
A woman on a mobility scooter was responsible for a massive crash at the Saarland Trofeo cycling race in Germany
I’m going to assume most people reading this are not intimately familiar with the Saarland Trofeo, a multi-day race that’s part of the UCI Junior Nations’ Cup where cyclists get to compete in multiple stages that unfold in southern Germany.
This year’s edition kicked off on June 11th and wrapped up on the 14th, and 18-year-old Sindre Orholm-Lønseth of Norway was ultimately crowned the winner upon the conclusion of the fourth and final stage with an overall time of 10:27:01.
Splinter van ‘t Hoff of The Netherlands finished in second place (and 21 seconds behind the winner), and while he didn’t encounter any major problems on Sunday, the same can’t be said for a fellow countryman who suffered a setback that could have been a lot worse based on video of the incident he ended up at the center of.
According to IDL Pro Cycling, the peloton was making its way through a town where spectators had lined the road of the course to cheer them on, but things took a wild turn when a woman on a mobility scooter pulled out directly into the path of Paul Vriesman, who flew head over heels after being launched off his bike.
View this post on Instagram
Vriesman was one of a number of cyclists who ended up on the road due to the scooter’s interference, and he was unable to finish the race. However, he and the rest of the competitors who were impacted managed to avoid any serious injuries, which was also the case for the woman who triggered the crash (although her ride might require some repairs).
It’s obviously a bummer that his day ended in the manner that it did, but the fact that he was able to walk away under his own power is a solid silver lining.