- A mass crash took out more than half the field near the start of a recent UCI junior men’s cross-country mountain bike race.
- The riders escaped serious injury, but one rider’s father caught the crash on video.
- It was the third straight crash near the start line during last month’s California Mountain Bike Series in Temecula.
Crashes are almost guaranteed in bike racing. Crashing at the start of a race? It happens, what with so many riders shoulder to shoulder, jostling for position.
But riders at a recent cross-country mountain bike race learned the hard way about how an early pileup can bring things to a grinding halt.
The crash occurred during a run of the California Mountain Bike Series in Temecula, California, on March 24. Less than 10 seconds into the UCI junior men’s race, two riders crossed handlebars and went down, taking a big chunk of the group—more than half the race, witnesses guessed—along with them.
Among the field of 63 riders was the son of Kevin Yackle, coach of the elite junior team Yackle Brothers Racing, who caught the moment on camera.
“I’m thinking, ‘I hope [my son] gets through and hasn’t lost too much time to be out of the race already,” Yackle told USA Today.
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No major injuries were reported, and the race resumed after a few hectic moments. In the end, Carter Woods, the world’s highest-ranking UCI junior men’s rider, took the victory. Yackle’s son, Nye, did manage to avoid the pileup and went on to place 33rd.
Those riders who went down shouldn’t feel alone, however. This was one of three men’s races during the series that saw a major crash moments from the start, according to Yackle. As he told USA Today, his reaction to the junior men’s incident summed it up: “Oh no, here we go again.”
When she’s not out riding her mountain bike, Jessica is an editor for Popular Mechanics. She was previously an editor for Bicycling magazine.
