There was absolute chaos at the finale of Stage 8 of the Vuelta a España, and it was the result of three deer attempting to cross the road. Giulio Ciccone and Txomin Juaristi were victims of the wandering mammals, as was a team car.
Marc Wauters, Lotto Dstny’s directeur sportif, said the scene was something he had never seen before.
“About fifteen kilometres from the finish, three deer suddenly came shooting from between the olive trees,” he told Het Nieuwsblad. “The first animal jumped smoothly over the team doctor’s car, and the second landed right on the second support car of Euskaltel.”
Team cars involved as well
Former pro Wilfried Peeters, now staff for Soudal-(T-Rex, or whatever)Quick-Step, also witnessed the incident. “Suddenly, I saw a deer stuck between the bikes on the roof of their team car. The beast struggled a bit to free itself, causing one bicycle to fall from the roof, but it eventually managed to get free. And they were serious animals.”
We didn’t get a chance to ask the deer, but it was able to run off into the distance. So we hope everyone involved is alright! 🥰🦌
No hemos tenido la oportunidad de preguntar al corzo, pero pudo huir.. ¡Así que esperamos que todos los implicados estén bien! 😉🦌#LaVuelta24 https://t.co/96lO6jfige
— La Vuelta (@lavuelta) August 24, 2024
Unai Iraragorri, speaking for the Spanish team Euskaltel-Euskadi, explained the injuries sustained by one of their cyclists. “One of our riders, Txomin Juaristi, crashed after colliding with a deer crossing the road,” he said. “So, he suffered superficial abrasions to his back and received a blow to the lower back. He is doing well, although it remains to be seen how it develops. While he was being treated at the Vuelta’s medical car, a second deer crossed the road. A third deer got stuck in the bike rack on our second team car, causing considerable damage to two bicycles.”
Quick-thinking cyclist saves horse from running into peloton
Juaristi recounted, “Out of nowhere, a deer appeared, and I took the full impact and fell. Then, when I was with the medical car, more deer jumped out; they came at us from the left. And, I thought I was going crazy. I saw a deer on top of the car, between the bikes, and they broke two of the car’s bikes. I got a hard blow, but for the moment, I’m fine.”
Both riders finished the stage and are likely looking forward to the rest day on Monday.
The Vuelta resumes on Tuesday with Stage…
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