The Eneco Tour has been praised by riders for its initiative to send motorbikes on alternative routes to avoid passing the peloton at pinch points, but that didn't stop a moto nearly wiping out the lead riders as it crashed on a roundabout.
The lead motorcycle took a wide line out of a roundabout in the closing stages of stage four, clipping a bollard and skidding across the road just in front of three riders off the front of the peloton.
Astana pair Andrei Grivko and Dmitriy Gruzdev were with Trek-Segafredo's Jasper Stuyven around 50 metres off the front of the pack when the incident occurred, with all three riders safely navigating the bike.
Motorbike-related incidents have unfortunately been quite common in the past two seasons, with Antoine Démoitié dying of his injuries after being hit by a bike at Ghent-Wevelgem.
Earlier in the season, Stig Broeckx (Lotto-Soudal) was knocked off at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and remains in a serious condition in hospital after being hit a second time at the Belgium Tour.
Then, Elia Viviani (Team Sky) was hit from behind following a crash at Paris-Roubaix among a host of incidents that have brought the spotlight on rider safety at races.
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