The Dutch rider goes right up onto the hoarding that separates spectators from the riders on the velodrome, but somehow she stayed upright.
This is perhaps one of the most remarkable near misses you are ever likely to see; Dutch track rider Laurine van Riessen riding onto the hoarding at the top of the velodrome in Rio but still managing not to fall.
She was competing in heat 2 of the keirin event earlier today during which a number of riders fell very hard.
Tania Calvo (Spain) and France’s Virginie Cueff looked to have tangled, with Calvo falling first and bringing others with her.
Cueff barged heavily into van Riessen, and bumped her up to the top of the track as both riders stayed upright but struggled to control their momentum riding bikes with fixed wheels and no brakes.
Advertisement
Related News
Maybe the best picture you'll see from the Rio Olympics track cycling. pic.twitter.com/9e1RBIUfOH
— CafeRoubaix (@CafeRoubaix) August 13, 2016
But while one would have expected van Riessen to crash into the hoard at the top of the track that separates the riders from the spectators, she rode right up it and incredibly avoided crashing.
Cueff was not so lucky, eventually crashing down on the boards, which then needed to be repaired where she fell.
British rider Becky James won the heat and while the unfortunate van Riessen could only manage 4th after her brush with a very high-speed nasty crash, she went through to the repechage.
And she would win her heat there and so has progressed to the next round of the competition.
This was very, very close!
MOZES! Van Riessen vliegt echt bijna de baan uit... dan ben je je leven dus echt niet zeker... pfff. pic.twitter.com/2iusWzBka1
— Mark Rijk (@MarkRijk) August 13, 2016
Topics
