Lead Female Cyclist Nearly Catches Men, Forcing Race to Pause

But after race was restarted, she ended up in 74th place
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 4, 2019 5:00 PM CST
Women's Race Paused as Lead Cyclist Nearly Catches Up to Men
Stock photo   (Getty Images / Pavel1964)

A women's cycling race in Belgium started 10 minutes after the men's race, but apparently there should have been an even bigger gap: As Swiss cyclist Nicole Hanselmann of the Bigla Pro team nearly caught up with the men, event organizers decided to pause the women's race as Hanselmann risked being obstructed by the men's support vehicles, the Guardian reports. Unfortunately for Hanselmann, who had a nearly 2-minute lead when the annual Omloop Het Nieuwsblad race was paused, she ended up falling into 74th place by the end. "We came too close to the men's so we had to get a neutral time gap again, so it was a bit sad for me because I was in a good mood and when the bunch sees you stopping, they just get a new motivation to catch you," she explained to Cyclingnews after the finish. (Teen gets lost, accidentally runs first marathon.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X