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First crash of Giro d'Italia 2014 - nearly 2 months before Belfast Big Start

Cycle commuter comes a cropper on pink paint publicising event in Northern Ireland's capital...

The first crash of the 2014 Giro d’Italia has happened in Belfast – nearly two months before the race is due to start in Ireland for the first time. The rider to come down wasn’t one of the stars vying to win the maglia rosa in May, but a cycle commuter in the Northern Ireland capital.

IT professional Chris Lindsay had the misfortune to ride across a wet patch of pink, chalk-based paint that had been painted on a cycle path for a photoshoot to help promote the race's visit to Ireland, complete with the words “Be part of the start."

That happened quite literally in Chris's case, as his bike and clothing became splattered in pink paint.

Yesterday morning, he tweeted this picture of his bike, with the caption: “Came off my bike this morning cycling into work. On wet paint from Giro d’Italia Start line!”

The crash happened as Chris's bike slid from under him as he sought to turn off the cycle path to head for work. He told road.cc there was no warning that the paint was wet.

One of the levers on his bike was bent, the wheel was knocked out of true and there was also some superficial damage to the frame. He's also still nursing bruises after his tumble.

The location, on the towpath near the Gasworks, wasn’t where the two stages beginning in Belfast will actually start – the Titanic Quarter – but instead was chosen to help publicise the event.

Chris, who works in IT,  said that workers had been due to remove to remove the paint once the photo opportunity was over, but did not do so.

He says the experience, while leaving him annoyed, won't put him off watching the Giro when it comes to town.

The Giro d’Italia starts in Belfast with a team time trial on Friday 9 May and the following day sees a road stage starting and ending in the same city and taking on the Giant’s Causeway.

On Sunday 11 May, there is a road stage from Armagh to Dublin, before the race heads back to Italy.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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13 comments

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cyclingdave70 | 9 years ago
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Others have ridden through it, and doesnt look like paint

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levermonkey | 9 years ago
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As children in the past have had actions taken against them for drawing on the pavement with chalks and the paint used was chalk based. Can we expect those cyclists who ran through the wet paint and left trails of graffiti to be prosecuted?  19

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rapid4 | 9 years ago
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Had the tracks been going all in the same direction I thought it was quite a good advert- showing the tracks of the bikes setting off from the pink start.
It never occured to me they weren't meant to be there.  21

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chadders | 9 years ago
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As long as his typing and mouse clicking finger are ok, the bike is just collateral damage!!
Why oh why take a picture and put it on Twatter no body really cares man!!

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TheSpaniard replied to chadders | 9 years ago
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chadders wrote:

As long as his typing and mouse clicking finger are ok, the bike is just collateral damage!!
Why oh why take a picture and put it on Twatter no body really cares man!!

At least he didn't put it on YouTube I guess...

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fennesz | 9 years ago
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I'm a little unsure about what line of work Chris is in.

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farrell replied to fennesz | 9 years ago
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fennesz wrote:

I'm a little unsure about what line of work Chris is in.

Painter and Decorator...

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Wookie | 9 years ago
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Not a publicity stunt then?  45

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mrmo | 9 years ago
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mind you even if dry paint can be lethal. Cheltenham Borough Council decided to use some red paint to mark a cycle path and in my stupidity I decided to use it. Ended up on my arse as the paint might as well have been ice!

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cidermart | 9 years ago
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Will he sue Halfords now?  3

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alexholt3 | 9 years ago
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"He told road.cc there was no warning that the paint was wet."

Agreed. Dry paint always leaves tyre tread marks from previous bikes passing through.  41

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farrell replied to alexholt3 | 9 years ago
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alexholt3 wrote:

"He told road.cc there was no warning that the paint was wet."

Agreed. Dry paint always leaves tyre tread marks from previous bikes passing through.  41

And once the paint is dry the tyre tread marks just magically disappear then do they?

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alexholt3 replied to farrell | 9 years ago
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farrell wrote:

And once the paint is dry the tyre tread marks just magically disappear then do they?

No but it does suggest that one should be more careful.

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