A professional cyclist won a sprint finish – only to smash into his wife seconds later as she took photos of him crossing the line first.
Luis Carlos Chia did not even have time to celebrate his triumph in the third stage of the annual cycling race the Vuelta a Colombia before the high-speed crash.
TV commentators picked up on the collision immediately – but only found out afterward the woman knocked out by the yellow jersey road racer was none other than Luis’s other half Claudia Roncancio.
Live footage showed her lying prostrate and apparently unconscious on the hard concrete behind the finish line as her injured husband was helped off his bike and limped away.
The crash did not stop him from continuing in his quest to win the prestigious event, first held in 1951 as an idea of Englishman Donald W Raskin and a few of his friends to emulate the famous Tour de France.
However, Claudia, a cyclist-turned photographer who now travels with her husband and records his cycling successes, was taken to hospital.
Overnight local reports said she remained under medical observation and had needed stitches to a head wound.
The couples have yet to comment on the surreal incident on their social media, but Luis told a Colombian newspaper after the smash: “I wanted to break, but the bike didn’t respond.
Colombian pro cyclist Egan Bernal, who cheated death earlier this year in a horrific collision with a bus during a training session, insisted safety always had to come first.
He wrote on social media: “It’s the Vuelta a Colombia and cyclists literally risk their lives to offer a show, but the safety of each one of them should always be guaranteed.”
Luis Carlos Chia’s third stage victory on Sunday was his second so far in this year’s race following his opening day win.