Skip to main content

Speed Cycling

A South African cyclist suffered a serious crash during a race in his country, due to an antelope’s lack of awareness of road rules. The cyclist was knocked off his bicycle by a Red Hartebeest buck, which charged across the dirt road he was riding along. The cyclist saw the animal spring from the side of the road but there was little he could do to stop. The antelope dazedly stood up following the impact and then bounded away, apparently unhurt. However the cyclist was left sprawled in the grass.
August 10, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A South African cyclist suffered a serious crash during a race in his country, due to an antelope’s lack of awareness of road rules. The cyclist was knocked off his bicycle by a Red Hartebeest buck, which charged across the dirt road he was riding along. The cyclist saw the animal spring from the side of the road but there was little he could do to stop. The antelope dazedly stood up following the impact and then bounded away, apparently unhurt. However the cyclist was left sprawled in the grass. Footage of the incident was captured by another racer. The cyclist was taken to hospital but did not suffer any serious injuries, despite his helmet shattering with the impact and he was discharged the following morning. Meanwhile in the US a number of road cyclists suffered an embarrassing crash, which was also captured on camera. One cyclist lost control on a bend and crashed into metal barriers by the roadside on the route of the race, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The peloton of riders following closely behind also became involved, with another rider hitting the barriers and one falling off as he collided with a barrier that had been thrown into the road. There were no injuries, other than bruised egos.

Related Content

  • Drink driving concern for Europe
    November 24, 2015
    Drink drive enforcement still has issues in Europe, according to Pan-European police body TISPOL. It is estimated that 230 (14%) of the 1,713 road deaths in the UK are due to drinking and driving. Meanwhile drink driving is the cause of around 5,000 road deaths in Europe. For England, Wales and Northern Ireland the limit for driving is still 80mg (0.8) of alcohol/100ml of blood. Scotland reduced its limit to 50mg (0.5) of alcohol/100ml of blood in December 2014, bringing it into line with most other Europea
  • Protecting the roadway with guard rails
    November 10, 2015
    Tata Construction Products is a major player in the European road protection market and aims to boost its share of business - Mike Woof writes. Part of the massive Tata Group, Tata Construction Products is a major player in Europe’s business segment for steel guard rails. Rodney Rice, marketing manager, Tata Steel Construction Products, said, “Our market is predominantly Europe.”
  • Scottish mountain highway toast to SuDS
    June 24, 2013
    Highway degradation and surface water pollution in an environmentally sensitive area of the Scottish Cairngorms Mountains, famous for its whisky production, are said to have been tackled with an innovative SuDS Solution from Hydro International. Poor drainage, flooding and freezing weather had led to a landslip and extreme surface degradation along a section of the narrow A95 that descends on a 10% gradient with tight bends to the beautiful village of Craigellachie on the River Spey, near Elgin. Situated im
  • Safety rallying call to English councillors after road death rise
    July 9, 2012
    English councils have been urged to protect the public on the roads by “whatever means is appropriate” after the first rise in road deaths in the country for eight years. Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said data obtained by the Foundation under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) showed there had been “no mass switch off” of speed cameras in England despite two years of Government road safety funding cuts. But Glaister fears an ageing national network of existing speed camera