A New Zealand triathlete was involved in a nasty bike crash over the weekend after her teammate rode into her during the bike leg resulting in her crashing into a metal barrier.
Nicole van der Kaay was racing alongside teammate Alice Betto during the bike portion of the Super League Triathlon Toulouse race in France, when Betto seemingly leaned into her teammate causing the two riders to touch, and pushing the Kiwis bike to the curb.
The triathlete’s tire was turned around, sending her over the handlebars and crashing her face into the top railing of the metal dividing the race course and spectators.
The Olympian got back on her feet but her bike sustained too much damage, forcing her to drop out of the race, finishing the championship series race in 11th.
Betto finished in 8th after falling 90 seconds behind the leader and being eliminated from the remainder of the race.
Van der Kaay said she didn’t suffer any major injuries and has since spoken with Betto about the accident.
“Extremely grateful for my body to be responding positively post-crash… That could have been super gnarly!” van der Kaay said in an Instagram post. “My main concerns post-crash are losing my pearly whites & concussion. For now, I have escaped anything major.”
“Thank you all for the lovely messages, I hope to competing at my fullest very soon,” she concluded.
The athlete also gave an update to people underneath the league’s own social media post explaining it was an accident.
“Hey everyone in the comments this was an accident which unfortunately happens in racing. Alice apologized and is deeply sorry. I’m fine also, no broken bones!” van der Kaay said.
While van der Kaay said she forgave her Italian teammate, many social media users didn’t.
“That was brutal and didn’t look accidental,” one commenter wrote.
“Accident? I don’t (think) so,” a second one stated.
“Someone needs to learn how to ride a bike.”
“Super League is the WWE of Triathlon,” a fourth user chimed in.
Super League Triathlon boasts itself as the “premiere swim-bike-run series” with “quick and exciting race formats” that is attempting to redefine triathlons for a modern audience.
The Championship Series is raced from August to November with the best triathletes on the planet, according to the league’s website.
The New Zealand native finished 29th in the women’s triathlon at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and was on her country’s mixed team that finished 12th.