How not to watch the finish of a bike racer; a spectator walks into the road to cheer on the riders in Co Wexford as they hurtle towards him (Photo: Sean Rowe)
We're all in favour of newcomers coming into the sport, especially road racing where the fields have been getting bigger and bigger in recent seasons.
But if spectators are new to the bike game, it might be worth having a word with them about etiquette before the action gets underway.
As these photos show, one man looking on at the end of the A4 race at the Frank O'Rourke Memorial on Sunday in Co Wexford got more than a bit carried away.
He stepped out into the road, much further than he should have, and lingered for a few moments.
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As the first few riders went past, he kept his eyes on them, turning his back on the bunch approaching at speed.
And it wasn't until the main body of the bunch was right upon him that he jumped back into the side of the road (see photo below), where he should have been all along.
There were other images of the man that were taken in the couple of seconds in between the photo above and the one below.
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In those other shots he was right in the road but facing the camera with his back to bunch; which must have been a very nervous time for the riders hurtling towards him.
We haven't published those photos because the spectator may be identifiable and we wanted to spare his blushes.
You can also see from these images that a rider in the centre of the road has begun to crash - pictured above - and then others also fell.
A number of the riders took the view after the race that the spectator stepping into the road had caused the crash.
But it appears the first rider to fall did so as a result of his front wheel breaking. And in the panic that followed, others fell in a clutch of four or five behind him.
We publish the photos here, not to embarrass anyone, but so members of the cycling community will be reminded that newcomers to the sport may need the very basics explained to them.
The spectator, far left, has finally jumped back to the side of the road. A group of riders can be seen on the right of photo having fallen. And the first man down can just about be seen on the road, closer to the left of shot. Before the man in the blue jacket jumped back to the side of the road, he had continued to look at the first couple of riders as they passed him, turning his head towards the camera and his back to the rest of the main field (Photo: Sean Rowe)
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