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20 cyclists injured as driver does U-turn at race in Belgium

Three riders remain in hospital, after incident yesterday one in intensive care with head injuries

20 cyclists taking part in a provincial championship race in Belgium yesterday were injured when they crashed into a car whose driver was making a u-turn. Three remain in hospital, one in intensive care with a head injury.

The crash happened in Wasmes on the outskirts of Colfontaine in the province of Hainault, close to the French border, reports Sudinfo.be.

It took place around 3 kilometres from the finish line during the ninth and final lap of the second of three races due to take place yesterday.

Luciano D'Antonio, mayor of Colfontaine, said that the exact cause of the crash was as yet unclear but the incident seemed to be down to “pure coincidence.”

He continued: “Rue de la Louise is on a steep slope and the runners were driving at a speed between 70 and 80 kilometres per hour.

"It was then that a mother, who was driving her car with her three children on board, turned around for an unknown reason: the first rider hit the vehicle, then his pursuers."

Three riders were reported to have sustained broken bones in the crash and four others were left concussed, with the remainder of the wounded suffering what were described as slight injuries.

The remainder of the day’s racing was cancelled, “out of respect for the injured cyclists, but also because first aid has to be performed on site,” said the mayor.

He added: “All security measures had been taken, such as signposting. The race was also accompanied by police motorcyclists.”

The incident has been referred to the prosecutor’s office in Mons, which has sent a collision examiner on site today to research the precise causes of the crash, including examining the first of the bikes that was involved and the points of impact on the vehicle.

The vehicle concerned had been parked in front of the owner’s home on the 7-kilometre circuit and on Sunday evening, the Mons public prosecutor said: “It seems that the lead vehicle had just passed when the driver made her manoeuvre.”

Her partner reportedly went back into the couple’s home and retrieved a baseball bat and has been reported for threatening gestures and carrying a prohibited weapon.

The motorist herself, aged 30 and said to be in a state of shock after the crash, could face a fine and up to a year’s imprisonment due to the standard of her driving.

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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OldRidgeback | 5 years ago
1 like

It's worth noting that Belgium has the worst road safety of any western European nation. The road death rate/head population in Belgium is around twice that of the Netherlands just over the border, and about 1.5 times that of France in the other direction.

The country has a bad record for drink driving offences and speeding compared with its near neighbours. 

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds replied to OldRidgeback | 5 years ago
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OldRidgeback wrote:

It's worth noting that Belgium has the worst road safety of any western European nation. The road death rate/head population in Belgium is around twice that of the Netherlands just over the border, and about 1.5 times that of France in the other direction.

The country has a bad record for drink driving offences and speeding compared with its near neighbours. 

Could the fact that Belgium is one of the major routes through from Europe to UK and even into France/Netherlands for goods has a major influence on RTC levels and from that KSIs?

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Deeferdonk | 5 years ago
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"It was then that a mother, who was driving her car with her three children on board, turned around for an unknown reason: the first rider hit the vehicle, then his pursuers."

I'm no Hercule Poirot but i suspect that the reason she turned round is that she wanted to go in the opposite direction.

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Jimmy Ray Will | 5 years ago
1 like

I'm waiting for arrests to be made of the cyclists harrassing the victim in the car and her kids. 

No driver should have to face the inconvenience of being hit by a cyclist, and no children should have to face the horror of blood and broken bones. Its about time this cycling bullshit was stopped. 

If it had been my kids and my wife, I'd have been swinging something greater than a baseball bat. 

etc. etc. etc. 

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Yorkshire wallet | 5 years ago
2 likes

Time for a conspiracy break for you. Between this and the horse it's all getting a bit much it seems.

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FatBoyW | 5 years ago
1 like

What a sick couple, cars and bikes with flashing lights go by, then you time your move as the lead car goes by to maim and possibly kill, all with your kids in the car? Sick. 

And don’t forget this lot had been by 8 previous times and the prior race a further 9, so they really knew what they were doing.

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technone | 5 years ago
4 likes

The wife caused the accident 100% and the husband should be jailed for threatening people with a bat (Who plays baseball in Belgium? All the people who buy bats there should be on a watchlist or something.). Hope they find their cells cozy.

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brooksby replied to technone | 5 years ago
0 likes

technone wrote:

The wife caused the accident 100% and the husband should be jailed for threatening people with a bat (Who plays baseball in Belgium? All the people who buy bats there should be on a watchlist or something.). Hope they find their cells cozy.

Its funny, isn't it, that I myself discovered an interest in baseball some years ago, coincidentally shortly after getting burgled. And yet the bat tends to be kept under the edge of my bed...

Avatar
Legin replied to brooksby | 5 years ago
1 like

brooksby wrote:

technone wrote:

The wife caused the accident 100% and the husband should be jailed for threatening people with a bat (Who plays baseball in Belgium? All the people who buy bats there should be on a watchlist or something.). Hope they find their cells cozy.

Its funny, isn't it, that I myself discovered an interest in baseball some years ago, coincidentally shortly after getting burgled. And yet the bat tends to be kept under the edge of my bed...

Nine of the ten poorest and most deprived areas of Europe are in the UK (embarrassing for one of the richest country's in the world). The remaining area that makes up the 10 is Hainault in Belgium. That probably answers the baseball bat question!

Avatar
mike the bike replied to Legin | 5 years ago
2 likes

 

 

[/quote]

Nine of the ten poorest and most deprived areas of Europe are in the UK (embarrassing for one of the richest country's in the world). The remaining area that makes up the 10 is Hainault in Belgium. That probably answers the baseball bat question!

[/quote]

Did you know nine out of ten statisticians are talking nonsense, especially those who have never been to Albania, Romania, Hungary, Poland, southern Italy, rural Portugal and the mountains of Spain.

Avatar
Legin replied to mike the bike | 5 years ago
1 like
mike the bike wrote:

 

 

Nine of the ten poorest and most deprived areas of Europe are in the UK (embarrassing for one of the richest country's in the world). The remaining area that makes up the 10 is Hainault in Belgium. That probably answers the baseball bat question!

[/quote]

Did you know nine out of ten statisticians are talking nonsense, especially those who have never been to Albania, Romania, Hungary, Poland, southern Italy, rural Portugal and the mountains of Spain.

[/quote]
Of course you must be correct because those countries are poorer than the UK and by default they will have the most deprived areas. Just the sort of logic that our useless politicians rely on to dupe the voters. After all we don't have poverty in the UK do we that's because we are so determined to ensure their is an adequate distribution of wealth and opportunity.

Avatar
brooksby replied to Legin | 5 years ago
1 like

Legin wrote:

mike the bike wrote:

Quote:

Nine of the ten poorest and most deprived areas of Europe are in the UK (embarrassing for one of the richest country's in the world). The remaining area that makes up the 10 is Hainault in Belgium. That probably answers the baseball bat question!

Did you know nine out of ten statisticians are talking nonsense, especially those who have never been to Albania, Romania, Hungary, Poland, southern Italy, rural Portugal and the mountains of Spain.

Of course you must be correct because those countries are poorer than the UK and by default they will have the most deprived areas. Just the sort of logic that our useless politicians rely on to dupe the voters. After all we don't have poverty in the UK do we that's because we are so determined to ensure their is an adequate distribution of wealth and opportunity.

Of course we have poverty in the UK, but I'm pretty sure our poverty isn't as impoverished as some places even in Europe.  We don't have large areas with no running water, no power, no internet, etc.  I'm pretty sure that there are inhabitants of large sections of rural continental Europe which would look at areas in the UK that we consider "poverty stricken" and think, "Whoa - I want to live *there*!  Luxury!!".

Avatar
Legin replied to brooksby | 5 years ago
1 like

brooksby wrote:

Legin wrote:

mike the bike wrote:

Quote:

Nine of the ten poorest and most deprived areas of Europe are in the UK (embarrassing for one of the richest country's in the world). The remaining area that makes up the 10 is Hainault in Belgium. That probably answers the baseball bat question!

Did you know nine out of ten statisticians are talking nonsense, especially those who have never been to Albania, Romania, Hungary, Poland, southern Italy, rural Portugal and the mountains of Spain.

Of course you must be correct because those countries are poorer than the UK and by default they will have the most deprived areas. Just the sort of logic that our useless politicians rely on to dupe the voters. After all we don't have poverty in the UK do we that's because we are so determined to ensure their is an adequate distribution of wealth and opportunity.

Of course we have poverty in the UK, but I'm pretty sure our poverty isn't as impoverished as some places even in Europe.  We don't have large areas with no running water, no power, no internet, etc.  I'm pretty sure that there are inhabitants of large sections of rural continental Europe which would look at areas in the UK that we consider "poverty stricken" and think, "Whoa - I want to live *there*!  Luxury!!".

 

Apologies on re-reading the report it is 9 out of 10 in Northern Europe; it includes all the countries that many would consider as our "equals". Excludes the Med Countries, Norway and th eold Eastern Block. https://www.exposingtruth.com/new-research-9-10-poorest-areas-northern-e...

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