Dutch Cyclist Rides Fully Horizontal On Wall To Avoid Crash

Keirin is a track cycling event where racers start behind a motorized pace vehicle, then more or less sprint it out for two kilometers. During the final lap of heat two at the women’s keirin this morning, French rider Virginie Cueff tried to budge her way into the outside lane so she could try and swing over for the win. She did not squeeze through, and instead she sent Kiwi rider Olivia Podmore and Spanish rider Tania Barbero to the deck, before eating shit herself.

Amazingly, the woman that Cueff edged out in the first place, Laurine Van Riessen, managed to stay on her bike, thanks to some, uh, creative riding up on the wall. The tops of velodrome floors are pitches rather steeply so that riders can use gravity to slingshot themselves, but the walls are about a full 90 degrees to the ground. Van Riessen had no problem riding horizontal style to the very top of the wall, then recovering into a veering Cueff, and staying upright to finish the race. She finished last in her heat, but won the repechage heat to qualify for the next round.

h/t The Slow Ride

[BBC]