AG2R-La Mondiale’s Jesse Sergent has been forced to retire from professional cycling at the age of 28 due to the serious injuries he sustained when the driver of a Shimano neutral service car knocked him from his bike when he was in the break at the Tour of Flanders last year.
The New Zealander, twice an Olympic bronze medallist on the track in the team pursuit, needed three operations on his collarbone after the incident in April 2015.
As the video above shows, the driver of the car tried to squeeze past the breakaway group through a gap that was simply not there, knocking Sergent, then riding for Trek Factory Racing, from his bike.
His coach Mike McRedmond, quoted on Stuff.co.nz, said: "It's been a tough 12 months for Jesse, with that crash he had last year, with the car hitting him.
"That was a big setback. They thought it would take six to eight weeks, but it took him three months because they ballsed up the operation.
"That put a dampener on his year and then he changed teams and going into a French-speaking team is a very hard transition."
McRedmond added: "The life of a pro cyclist is really tough; it's really, really hard.
"You have to train every day, you've got a big race programme and a lot of people who don't understand the sport don't understand how hard it is. It just wears you down."
Sergent’s best year on the road came in 2011, his first full season on the WorldTour wih RadioShack, when he won the overall titles at the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen and the Tour International du Poitou Charentes, as well as a stage in the Eneco Tour.
Agree, but again it's how to start to break the vicious circle?...
I'm either amazed that they can get through with (presumably) a full sized waste truck, or amazed that she could not. Although as you say the bin...
Absolutely. Even with everyone behaving as they should there isn't enough room for everyone to be able to keep moving....
They can't spell "stupider"
How about this for negative stereotyping :...
£1500? I almost feel the layer of grime lifting off this one with my Muc-off cleaner, a shine returning to the alu with Autosol and an old t-shirt:...
Watch out for toe overlap (front wheel clearance) with midfoot cleats,
"So now you're saying that being in that family - even by marriage - makes you more likely to commit a traffic offence?"...
Will those wide rim brake models fit inside a shimano 40-49mm brake caliper with 28mm max clearance??? Gonna be a squeeze...
I'd be even more concerned about the effect it may have on whether the helmet can still do its job in the event of an impact....