American cyclist narrowly avoid cliff fall during | Sports News

Sepp Kuss was simply mere inches from catastrophe during the Tour de France.

Charging for a stage win from the Col de Sarenne towards Alpe d’Huez, Kuss, the American, didn’t correctly choose simply how fast he was going. Trying to show proper, the 31-year-old as a substitute slammed into a low wall and fell into the netting that was hooked up to stated low wall.

By the time his momentum stopped, Kuss was simply mere inches away from the sting of the netting, with a sizeable drop simply previous the place he got here to a relaxation. It was his second crash, after an incident in a darkish, moist tunnel whereas he led the stage, calling to thoughts how one other professional cyclist was taken out, although the earlier time was as a result of of a kangaroo.

Once he caught his breath, Kuss received on his bike and soldiered on, although Richard Carapaz took benefit of the 31-year-old’s falls and completed the stage in first.

Remco Evenepoel got here in second simply behind Carapaz, the Olympic champion, whereas Kuss rounded out the highest 31, ending more than 30 seconds after Carapaz.

Speaking in regards to the incident after the race, Kuss defined that the second was simply a lapse in judgment and apologized to his household for the heart-pounding expertise. “Yeah, I was just so on the limit that I misjudged the corner a bit, first in the tunnel, and then after that I was still trying to make up too much time and then misjudged the corner,” he stated after the very fact.

“So yeah, a bit scary. So sorry to my wife and my family watching at home. They were probably a bit nervous there, but no, that’s racing. I mean, yeah, happy with the fight and the performance and yeah, it was a big day out.”

TNT Sports analyst Matt Stephens added: “This could have been a life or death moment. The other side of that netting is a precipitous drop. The organizers have played a blinder.”

Kuss additionally spoke on how it has been just lately for him and Jonas Vingegaard, his teammate on Team Visma-Lease a Bike. Vingegaard’s standing is up within the air after crashing and fracturing his collarbone.

“Yeah, I mean, that’s how it goes,” he started, referencing his crashes. “You know, you can’t always have good luck or have everything go your way. But I think we can be proud of the way we fought. And yeah, after Jonas went out of the race, we definitely made the most of every single day.

“And yeah, for me, I felt the assist of the blokes the entire stage. And yeah, sadly, I could not pay it back. But I believe we will be proud of our effort.”