When the red mist descended, this rider didn't hold back. And after footage of these punches emerged his team fired him.
An American pro rider has been fired by his team after he repeatedly punched a rival after the finish of a criterium race and footage of the incident emerged publicly.
The clip, carried below, has gone viral since the incident on Sunday.
However, while the 10-second piece of footage shows only one ride throwing punches, the investigation into the incident is examining the roles of both men.
The USA Cycling Federation said it wanted to examine the chain of events before the filming started, in a bid to determine who the instigator of the altercation was.
The incident occurred just seconds after the finish of the Longsjo Classic in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, on Sunday.
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Jerome Townsend, riding in the colours of BikeReg Elite Cycling, can be seen punching Dave Warner of the Jamaica Plain team as he sits in the wet road.
Townsend, who also works as a nude model in an art gallery, clearly saw the error of his actions and took to social media to apologise.
"I acted in a way that is detrimental to my team, and my sport. I hope that people do not blame my team, the race or its staff, or the city of Fitchburg in general for my actions as it was me who acted poorly," he said.
His now former team also released a statement saying it had terminated the rider’s contract.
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"BikeReg is aware of the unacceptable actions of one of our sponsored riders at the 2015 Longsjo Classic in Fitchburg, MA. The team extends our sincerest apologies to those involved and affected by these actions."
Police arrived on the scene but both riders said they would prefer if the cycling authorities investigated the incident and the Fitchburg Police Department have agreed to that course of action.
The USA Cycling Federation and race officials will now investigate the contents of the video and the events leading up to the incident, but which were not captured on camera.
Race director Allan Cote believed there was more to the incident than the 10 seconds captured in the clip below.
"There was some bumping going on, which sometimes happens," said Cote. "Apparently this time it was a little more aggressive than usual."
He said the incident was a case of bad sportsmanship on the part of both riders.
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