On-board camera captures huge crash for Tour de France rider who hit a bollard
The Cofidis rider was catapulted over the bars as he missed the warnings
On-bike footage from the Tour de France has captured a huge crash for a Cofidis rider who was catapulted over the bars when he hit a bollard.
Pierre-Luc Périchon was filmed riding into road furniture at full speed on stage four of the Tour de France, with the incident captured by a front-facing camera mounted to the bike if his team-mate Natnael Berhane.
Berhane was unable to avoid the Périchon’s bike, which had landed directly in front of the Eritrean, and he was also brought down.
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The footage was shared online by Velon, the organisation that takes fans inside the peloton with rider data and on-board cameras.
Video of Perichon’s crash shows the peloton splitting down the middle to avoid a traffic island, guarded by a marshal with a flag and whistle.
Riders waved their arms in the air to warn others of the hazard, with everyone appearing to make it through safely.
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The peloton stays split after the island, but Périchon returned to the middle of the road and didn't see the second traffic island because he’s sat on the wheel of another rider from a rival team.
As the rider in front swerves away from the danger at the last second, Frenchman was unable to react in time and hits the padded bollard at full speed, being fired over the bars onto the road as his bike is thrown out into the peloton.
Berhane, following his team-mate close behind, is unable to avoid the bike and falls as well.
The collision was filmed from the front-facing camera mounted to Berhane’s bike.
Both riders escape serious injury and were able to finish the stage, with Périchon only suffering bruises.
This isn’t the first dramatic crash captured by on-board camera’s at the Tour de France 2019.
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On stage one, Damiano Caruso (Bahrain-Merida) fell 20km from the line and brought down pre-race favourite for the overall Jakob Fuglsang (Astana).
Caruso’s team-mate Vincenzo Nibali was forced to utilise his legendary bike-handling skills to avoid the crash, hopping up onto the pavement and narrowly avoiding Caruso’s bike.
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Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers. Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.
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