Australian rider Maeve Plouffe says she narrowly averted being hit by a automotive in the course of the first stage of the Tour Of Britain Ladies.
The Netherlands’ Lorena Wiebes retained the chief’s inexperienced jersey with victory on stage two.
Plouffe, 27, who rides for British continental crew O’Shea Purple Chilli Bikes, mentioned the incident occurred on a roundabout as she was chasing again to the peloton, following a puncture on Wednesday.
Posting on Instagram, she wrote: “Whereas the race convoy was nonetheless in sight, and I used to be lower than two minutes down, there have been automobiles from most of the people coming at me from all instructions, together with one that just about hit me on a roundabout.
“In a while, the moto escort was great and I felt a lot safer. However contemplating the current devastating occasions in our biking group, it is scary to see conditions like this, once we know that this will have horrific penalties, particularly so quickly after struggling such a tragedy.”
Plouffe was referring to the dying of 19-year-old British rider Fin Tarling, who was killed final week in a high-speed collision with a van, which had strayed on to the highway in the course of the eighth stage of the Volta a Portugal.
Earlier than the Tour of Britain Ladies started, there was a tribute to Tarling with {a photograph} of him projected on to a big display screen and a minute’s applause which all 114 riders and spectators took half in.
Tarling was the youthful brother of Netcompany Inoes rider Josh Tarling, who was introduced on Thursday within the crew’s line-up for the Vuelta a Espana three-week Grand Tour, which begins on Saturday.
Reacting to Plouffe’s social media publish, Jonathan Day, the occasions director of British Biking Ventures – a business entity of British Biking, which organises the Tour of Britain Ladies – issued an announcement to the BBC.
In it, Day mentioned: “We be aware Maeve Plouffe’s feedback about her expertise throughout yesterday’s race, and we’re taking these extraordinarily critically.
“Rider security is paramount and can at all times be handled as a precedence in our planning and the way we function any race.
“We’re reviewing what occurred with Maeve and her crew O’Shea Purple Chilli Bikes with the seriousness and empathy these feedback demand.
“We recognise this comes at an particularly troublesome time for the biking group, so we need to reassure all riders, groups and followers of the game presently of how severe we’re treating these feedback.”