The title seems like one of those from 70s comedy films, but in reality it sums up yet another madness in the varied world of cycling. In more detail: before the 4th stage of the amateur race Les Routes de l’Oise, with 182 runners involved, the race commissioners, following several reports of “a strange noise” coming from Giovambattista Iera’s bike, ridge 88, AC Bellaingeoise rider, in the previous stage, they decided to stop him for a check, suspecting mechanical doping.
In addition to the suspicious noise from Iera’s bike, the stewards had also noticed that in the previous stage on the circuit he had recovered a breakaway by completing a lap in an incredibly short time.
Once they headed towards the car of the suspected runner, however, he fled. The president of the organizing company, Frédéric Lenormand, also intervened between the runner and his car to prevent him from escaping, but, in a movie scene, the Iera continued straight ahead and ran over him, with Lenormand finding himself clinging to the bonnet of the car for a hundred metres. In the end he let go without getting hurt and Iera managed to escape.
Obviously Lenormand made a report to the police thanks also to the numerous witnesses present, but he commented: “it could have ended dramatically, but it’s really sad to come to this“.
One of the witnesses commented: “The most serious thing in this story is that a volunteer race director found himself on the hood of a car. They say money ruins everything, but this is just a story of petty personal glory.”
Since it is an amateur race, Lenormand pointed out that in fact the winner of the race wins a shirt, a trophy, a bouquet of flowers and a food gift basket…
The AC Bellaingeoise team was asked to withdraw from the race.
