A German cycling race was plunged into chaos when an elderly woman on a mobility scooter inched forward into the cyclists’ path, causing a mass collision and sending competitors flying off their bikes, wild video shows.
More than 100 cyclists from across Europe converged for the Saarland Trofeo Juniors in Germany on Sunday, each vying for a coveted spot on the podium.
As they biked through the countryside, some encountered an unexpected obstacle — the elderly woman and her scooter.
Stunned bystanders captured the moment when the woman inched her scooter out of the crowd of spectators and into the race path. One cyclist managed to swerve around the front of the scooter, but a competitor behind him wasn’t as fortunate.
The man smacked into the scooter, narrowly avoiding its bumbling occupant and sending him somersaulting off his bike. At least four other competitors were downed in the crash — which left them sprawled across the road, according to the video.
The first victim, Dutch cyclist Paul Vriesman, posted on social media that he was involved in “a very nasty looking crash” but “got away with it relatively well.”
Vriesman, who was involved in another harrowing crash at the beginning of the racing season, added that he was “lost for words on how something like this can happen.
“So much hard work and yet another setback,” he grimly concluded.
Miraculously, all the cyclists taken out by the wayward scooter and its chain reaction escaped without serious injury, according to The Telegraph.
Cycling commentator Los Brolin, who shared the now-viral video, urged spectators to make sure they don’t edge beyond the designated sidelines.
“Even a small step onto the road can have serious consequences at these speeds. This was not even the first incident of this kind during the race. Junior racing is already dangerous enough without spectators making it even more dangerous,” he wrote on social media.
Sindre Orholm-Lønseth of Norway finished first in the race. Splinter van’t Hoff of the Netherlands and Elias Wändel of Germany rounded out second and third.
In 2021, a French woman was arrested for causing an infamous, bloody crash during the Tour de France.
She was seen holding up a poster that read “Go! Gran, Grandad” in French and German. German cyclist Tony Martin clipped her sign, causing a domino effect of crashes around him.
The woman fled the scene, but turned herself in to police four days later. The Tour de France later agreed not to press charges against her
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