27 riders injured in Hong Kong Cyclothon, including 13 in pile-up; sports body defends course layout amid athlete criticism

Twenty-seven cyclists were injured on Sunday (Oct 22) in the first post-COVID Hong Kong Cyclothon, including 13 left bloodied in a single pile-up, prompting a sports association head to defend the course layout following criticism from some riders.

The 13-rider pile-up occurred before noon during an eight-lap race open to both amateur and elite participants along Salisbury Road in Tsim Sha Tsui and the Hung Hom Bypass. During the second lap near the Empire Centre Shopping Arcade, a cyclist hit a traffic cone while trying to overtake other competitors, causing riders behind them to crash.

A participant surnamed Chan said the placement of traffic cones on the course was problematic.

“Once our wheels hit the base of the cone, it’s easy to lose control because it creates a curve under the wheels,” Chan said. “It’s hard to regain control if the bike tilts especially at high speed with multiple people (around). We don’t have much space to manoeuvre. So if the bike tilts, we can only continue tilting further.”

A mainland Chinese participant surnamed Qu described having little time to react.

“I was going very fast coming down and when I started slowing down, there were a lot of people,” Qu said. “The person in front of me slowed down suddenly, and I could not hit my brakes in time. That was how I hit his rear wheel and fell.”

One of the injured, a man who was among about 5,000 amateur and professional participants across seven races in this year’s event, was in serious condition, while 16 were stable and 10 had been discharged, according to the Hospital Authority. The injured were sent to hospitals in and near the Kowloon area.

Chairman of Hong Kong Cycling Association Leung Hung-tak said this year’s course design and configuration