The crash just before the finish of stage 1 in China was absolutely massive. It seems to have been a protest by the man involved.
The riders on the opening stage at the Tour of Qinghai Lake were bracing for the finishing bunch sprint when a pedestrian walked out and caused a massive crash.
A very large number of riders came down in the high-speed pile-up as these photos and the video below reveals.
The man involved walked out into the bunch's path as the lead-out trains had ramped up the speed with just 2km to the finish of the 113km stage that started and finished in Xining.
The man left the riders with no time to slow or swerve to avoid as he stepped into the road on top of the head of the field.
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There are reports that the man, who was injured, was arrested by local police and that his actions were a form of protest, though that was unconfirmed at the time of writing.
The stage was won by Miguel Angel Rubiano (China Continental Team of Gansu Bank) from Daniele Colli (Nippo - Vini Fantini) and Remco Te Brake (Parkhotel Valkenburg CT).
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This is awful, from China
#TDQL2016 l Enorme chute à l'arrivée de la 1e étape du @TDQL_Official ! #Twittcyclos
(Via @ProCyclingStats)
— La GazetteDes Sports (@GazetteDesSport) July 17, 2016
The man in the middle of all of this - in white top, centre of shot - was arrested after the incident.
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