Two cyclists were struck by wild deer during a stage of the Vuelta

Two cyclists were injured during the eighth stage of the Vuelta a España. Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) and Chomin Juaristi (Euskaltel-Euskadi) crashed due to a collision with a deer.

According to a press release, Juaristi fell when a herd of deer crossed the road. While the medical team was attending to him, another herd also crossed the road, and one deer got stuck on the roof of a car, causing significant damage to two spare bikes of the Euskaltel-Euskadi team.

A medical examination revealed that Juaristi has minor injuries to his back, shoulder, and lower back. His condition is stable, but further examination will be necessary.

Interestingly, incidents with wild animals during road races are not new. In the past, cyclists have collided with domestic animals such as dogs and cats. One well-known incident occurred in 1997 when Marco Pantani crashed after colliding with a black cat. In the 1980s, the American Motorola team also had an encounter with a cat, leading to the fall of several cyclists.