During the Belgian under-20 Arden Challenge race in Belgium Wednesday, a horse suddenly ran onto the road. The animal ran behind the peloton and Lars Daniels saw that too. The 23-year-old rider from Herk-De-Stad was able to grab the animal by the reins and calm it down with his own hands.
“I thought, how do I solve this? Because the horse kept running, and if the animal were to run into the peloton or be hit by the support vehicles, the damage is incalculable,” he said to Het Nieuwsblad “I decided to ride next to it to reassure the horse. I grabbed the reins and slammed on the brakes as hard as I could, to bring the horse to a halt. Soon a policeman on the motorcycle came to tell me that he would take over, because of course I had to move on as soon as possible to catch back on. Apparently, the rider was already approaching at that moment, on the back of another police motorcyclist.”
Watching the footage, it was clear that Daniels had experience with horses.
“As a little boy I grew up at a horse riding school, and today I still go to show jumpings and I have some friends who still ride often,” he said.
Horse on course: 13 and a half times animals disrupted the pro peloton
The incident occurred less than 10 km from the finish line. By coming off the back to help the horse, he would sacrifice any chance to finish up there. He ended up finishing 93rd on the day, in a group over three minutes behind. A few days later on the final stage, he would snag a top-ten. But at that moment, all he cared about was the wellbeing of the horse.
“But I didn’t compete for the prizes. Fortunately, it just went downhill there, and thanks to the support cars I was able to quickly rejoin the peloton. So in the end, I was able to ride in with the rest of the group,” he says.
The incident is similar to the 2023 Strade Bianche Donne. There were some tense moments in the closing kilometres when a loose horse ran in front of Demi Vollering. The SD Worx rider was chasing Kristen Faulkner (Jayco AlUla) who was solo, with 17.5 km to go. As she took a fast left-hander down a descent, a horse made its way onto the road. The horse just avoided the former Liège-Bastogne-Liège winner. Vollering, 26, managed to steer clear but screamed as the equine almost took her out.
Check out this incredible moment when Daniels took the horse to safety, mid-race, below.
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