As if hazardous street furniture, fans getting in the way on climbs, and the occassional badly-driven car weren't all enough to contend with, these riders at the Vuelta a Burgos had a TV helicopter get a bit too low.
Video: What happens when a TV helicopter gets a bit too close to a bike race?
This chopper pilot got a bit carried away in pursuit of a great shot
Tue, Aug 13, 2013 13:04
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John wrote about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day’s work.
He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.
He worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.
John also wrote for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site’s main audience. He joined road.cc in 2013.
John died from cancer in 2025, changing his name to John Abbott Valentine in the months before his death.
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Latest Comments
GravelIsNothingNew 4 hours ago
…and why was Jonas tested at 2am, whilst Tadej was tested in the morning at 5am?
GravelIsNothingNew 4 hours ago
Midnight testing in the middle of a cycling grand tour is only justified if it catches a doping cheat, otherwise it is unconscionable. The UCI’s own rules say it is only justified if there is real suspicion of doping. …Where is the evidence?
chrisonabike 6 hours ago
Is that a Russian "z" symbol represented by the front wheel? Or is it an "s" - and is the back wheel the same?
chrisonabike 6 hours ago
Of course this will rightly be subject to meeting legal evidence requirements. Which will then be amended to "we have been told that the minimum evidential standards are..." Which a cynic might suggest will allow police to dismiss enough cases so they don't get too busy. Except when a few of them get suspicious of someone and decide to make up the law again...
chrisonabike 6 hours ago
RE: "suitable roadside test equipment" Does this mean "UCI-level scrutiny is needed" .... Or "eyes plus awareness that bikes normally slow down when on the flat / going uphill *without being pedalled*"?
judda6610 6 hours ago
"West Midlands Police is exploring alternative methods of spotting illegal e-motorbike use" Somebody please tell them easiest way to 'spot' would be the rider's going faster than any typical cyclist for the conditions. And if the rider isn't even pedalling - well bang to rights, innit? Or if they're scouring popular stops for Deliveroo etc. couriers, just look for the throttle.
kingleo 7 hours ago
Motorists cause considerable delays to cyclists in cities and towns.
Secret_squirrel 7 hours ago
And even in the apology statement they call him a driver 🤦♂️
andystow 8 hours ago
That sounds like work, though.
ktache 8 hours ago
I was quite disturbed by this story yesterday and I'm glad that it seems to be getting resolved a bit. Presumably the bike looked fairly standard and was not covered in gaffer, with tern graphics, so surely one quick web search would have shown the ridiculous expense of this machine (you pay for quality mind...) hinting at it's full legality in unmodified state and preventing this embarrassment through incompetence.
11 thoughts on “Video: What happens when a TV helicopter gets a bit too close to a bike race?”
Helicopter incident at 44.25
Helicopter incident at 44.25 onwards.
it still looked quite high up
it still looked quite high up the draught must bee amazing to blow them off course.
billyman wrote:it still
It’s because the pilot had to change the pitch of the rotor and put more of an angle of attack into the blades to stop and hover. And, since he was right over the cyclists at the time, whoomp, there they go!
Just thought you might like to know…. :B
I’m sure it’s not the first
I’m sure it’s not the first time they’ve been blown off by someone with a big chopper.
ROFL
ROFL
Hahahaha! Awesome
Hahahaha! Awesome
Didn’t Moser use a helicopter
Didn’t Moser use a helicopter to win the Giro 😕
LOL, what an anticlimax of a
LOL, what an anticlimax of a finish.
Anything to win! Hover
Anything to win! Hover helicopters over your competition!
I don’t want to be picky,
I don’t want to be picky, but: The heli covering the race is a Eurocopter and the one being “apprehended” is a Robinson…Two completely different choppers. A Robinson couldn’t cut my grass if it tried….the Eurocopter is gas-turbine and a far more powerful. Just saying. B-)
No fair: a Robinson crashing
No fair: a Robinson crashing and burning would do a fine job of your grass!