Australia’s swooping magpies have caused chaos at the UCI Road World Championships, with unsuspecting cyclists left terrified by their close encounters with the local wildlife.
Magpies are known for wreaking havoc all around Australia in spring as they fiercely protect their nests during mating season, and the cyclists have not been spared.
There are signs nearing the end of the Wollongong course which warns anyone passing of “birds swooping”, and a few riders have already had some unsettling brushes with nature.
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“A fairly large bird came very close, and it just kept following me,” Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel was reported as saying.
“It was terrifying. But that’s Australia, apparently. I hope it’s the only time it happens, but I am afraid of it.”
Switzerland’s Stefan Kung also claimed that one of his teammates had been “attacked” by a Magpie.
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Despite the struggles of some riders, the magpies proved to be no match for Norway’s Soren Waerenskjold on Monday, after he took out the men’s Under-23 time trial with a time of 34:13.40.
Waerenskjold finished 16.34 seconds ahead of the second-placed Alec Segaert of Belgium, while Great Britain’s Leo Hayter rounded out the podium in third.
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