‘Look where he’s stopped!’ – Terrifying near-miss as leader changes wheel in middle of road at Paris-Roubaix

There was a terrifying near-miss at Paris-Roubaix after a rider inexplicably tried to change a wheel in the middle of a narrow stretch of cobbles. Lone leader Jens Reynders (UCI ProTeam Sport Vlaanderen–Baloise) was struck with a puncture with 117km left of the French Monument, but pulled onto the racing line to get help from neutral service. Ad/> Behind, a bulging chase group were getting closer as everyone began to fear the worst.

/> Paris — Roubaix‘Hello, hello, hello!’ – Van Aert hits trouble on cobblesAN HOUR AGO “Ohhh, that is not a good place to stop with the peloton coming down behind. Look where he’s stopped, right in the middle,” said Adam Blythe on Eurosport commentary. “Worst possible place,” chimed in 2004 champion Magnus Backstedt.

To make the situation even more perilous, a rogue spectator had crept forward onto the dirt to get a closer look at Reynders’ wheel change – blocking the escape route for the fast-approaching pack. Paris-Roubaix LIVE ‘Alarm bells!’ – Van der Poel and Van Aert caught out by huge split in peloton “Keep your fingers crossed,” said Dan Lloyd as the group surged into view and only a small gap for them to squeeze through. With the cobbles kicking up dust, it appeared the group could not even see the stricken Reynders.

An accident looked inevitable. But three last-gasp interventions – Reynders shifting closer to the side of the road, the fan moving back onto the grass and some nifty bike handling from the chasers – ensured that, somehow, a terrible crash was avoided. “You’ve got to feel for the guy [Reynders], leading Paris-Roubaix, he would have been loving that,” added Lloyd.