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SYDNEY: An Australian Olympic cyclist was thrown
dazed to the ground when a motorist collided with his elite training
pack, scattering dozens of riders over a busy Sydney road and
sparking a police call Friday for witnesses.
The alleged road rage incident
left 20 riders with minor injuries, including Beijing hopeful Ben
Kersten.
Kersten, whose bike was mangled,
was left lying dazed on the road after the driver collided with the
50 cyclists, including former Olympians, on a weekly dawn ride.
The sprinter told reporters that
in the moments after falling off his bike, he feared for the safety
of his fellow riders, as motorists drove by yelling: “Go get a
car, you tight arses.”
“This was one of the dirtiest
examples of road rage I’ve ever seen,” he was quoted as saying
by Australian Associated Press.
“This guy deserves to go to
jail. You could do that 100 times and 99 times someone is going to
die.”
Kate Nichols, who was lucky to
survive a horrific car accident in 2005 in Germany which almost
wiped out Australia’s female road cycling team, suffered scratches
and bruises to her right side in the encounter.
Her father, 1984 Olympic gold
medallist Kevin Nichols, said the cyclists were traveling at about
60 kilometers (37 miles) per hour when the car began swerving into
the pack.
“He sped ahead and pulled in
front of the pack. I though, ‘Uh oh’ and began warning riders
around me to slow down,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
“Then suddenly he slammed the
brakes on and it was too late for anyone to get out of the way.”
New South Wales police said they
have interviewed a man over the incident but no charges have been
laid. The investigation continues.
--AFP
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