The Great Fall of China

A Chinese pedestrian unleashed mayhem this week by simply crossing the road at a pedestrian crossing. Unbeknown to the hapless pedestrian, he was trying to cross the road just as a peloton of professional cyclists was hurtling down the road. His seemingly innocent act caused chaos and a huge pile-up of twisted bikes and bikers as the pack slammed into him.

Just as the first stage of the Tour of Qinghai Lake was approaching the finish line in Xinging, they met with the somewhat unexpected moving hazard, as can be seen by the footage below; the leaders managed to avoid him but the rest of the peloton slammed into him, causing a monumental pile-up as rider after rider fell like dominos. Six of the riders were reported to be hospitalised with their injuries. The footage also seems to show the pedestrian lying motionless as the result of the impact.

The Tour of Qinghai Lake is a fully fledged 14-day race that attracts second tier teams from around the world and is billed as the highest altitude cycling race in the world. The nineteen-year-old pedestrian that caused the mayhem has been detained by the police, and the police and officials responsible have also been suspended.

Cycling is fraught with mishaps; this year’s Tour de France, which is also going ahead at the moment, saw a dramatic conclusion as Britain’s Chris Froome, along with two other cyclists, crashed headlong into a motorcycle that had been blocked by a mass of fans. Froome was seen almost comically running along the road waiting for a replacement for his broken bike and it initially seemed like he had lost the race lead due to the crash.