Crashes are accepted risks among bicyclists, particularly in races as intense and important as the Tour de France. Cars crashing into bicyclists, though – that’s taking it up a notch.
During Sunday’s ninth stage, Spain’s Juan-Antonio Flecha and Dutchman Johnny Hoogerland found themselves victims to a blatantly careless swipe by a French television car. The car in question -- while attempting to swerve a tree, apparently -- nudged the Spaniard with approximately 20 miles remaining. Flecha subsequently went down with a thud and took Hoogerland -- who then got thrown into a barbed wire fence – with him.
Video of the melee below.