Treacherous conditions caused by torrential rain on the Yorkshire Road World Championships 2019 time trial course have resulted in a number of heavy crashes for the U23 men currently competing for their world title.
It has been bucketing it down in true British fashion since the first rider set off this morning, and the rain eventually claimed its first victim, Hungary’s Attila Valter.
>>> UCI Road World Championships 2019 in Yorkshire: routes, TV guides, start lists
Valter tries to do his best to stay upright as he begins to lose control but eventually comes off, narrowly avoiding a kerb.
The 21-year-old, who rides for the CCC development team, then goes skidding off down the road due to the slippery road surface.
Wow. Valter was very lucky, no serious injuries for him #Yorkshire2019 pic.twitter.com/SDXXQhNu6H
— McEEV (@GosuSM) September 24, 2019
The Hungarian thankfully gets back on his feet, and gingerly walks a fair distance back to his bike, giving a thumbs up to the camera to signal he’s ok.
— Gibby 🤦♂️ (@agibby76) September 24, 2019
Valter eventually finished five minutes down on the provisionally quickest time on the road, shaking his head across the line.
Moments later, Johan Price-Pejtersen also suffered a heavy fall. Going through standing water on the road, the Dane hits something and comes flying off his bike.
Problemas pic.twitter.com/DRDtrswdvz
— cronoescalada.com (@cronoescalada) September 24, 2019
Other riders, including American Brandon McNulty, also were forced to push on through standing water on the road, thankfully staying upright.
After Norway’s Iver Knotten successfully managed to stay upright during a sketchy moment, disaster struck twice, as his chain came off. Instead of slowing down and getting a bike change, Knotten reached down and somehow managed to re-attached his chain while speeding round a damp corner.
Iver Johan Knotten 🇳🇴 is not only fastest through intermediate split 1, he’s also a mobile mechanic! 🔧#Yorkshire2019 pic.twitter.com/zarD6khGKy
— UCI (@UCI_cycling) September 24, 2019
The Road World Championships continue this afternoon with the women’s elite time trial, where the likes of Anna van der Breggen and Annemiek van Vleuten will be hoping and praying the conditions brighten up.
