'Very painful!' - Embarrassing gaffe as Eduard Prades wrongly celebrates AND then crashes at Tour of Hellas

There was an embarrassing gaffe for poor Eduard Prades (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) at the Tour of Hellas as he celebrated what he thought was first place, then crashed, coming in second. Aaron Gate (Black Spoke Pro Cycling) took the victory on the 190.1km route from Heraklion to Chania in a time of 4:24:10 with Prades in second place, 1:46 adrift. Ad/> Perhaps the distance between the two meant that Prades did not realise where he was placed as he neared the finish and prepared his big celebration.

/> Tour of Hellas'Absolute disaster' — Gate has to swerve past spectators in near-crash at Tour of HellasAN HOUR AGO Indeed, it was a highly regrettable moment for the Spaniard as he lifted his arms aloft to herald the win, only to both crash over the line and then eventually realise that he had only come in second place. «Oh, Prades hits the deck in a moment of celebration!» exclaimed Declan Quigley, on commentary for Eurosport. «I'm not sure he was celebrating second — I suspect he thought he had won the race.

That is a bit of a shock to the system, isn't it, for Eduard Prades. »What about this moment: he won the gap for second, thought it was a victory, and that was potentially a very painful moment indeed. Back on his feet, and he will have a visit to the podium." It was not the only awkward moment in the day's racing as the eventual winner, Gate, got confused as to the route of the course and nearly collided with some very baffled spectators.

The 31-year-old from New Zealand had to swerve to avoid hitting the walking fans on a crossing with the hapless marshals seemingly as uncertain as he was over the correct path. «Well, that is an absolute disaster!» Quigley yelled. «He is tiptoeing his way through that junction — did not