Australian rider Maeve Plouffe says she narrowly avoided being hit by a car in Cumbria during the first stage of the Tour Of Britain Women.
The Netherlands’ Lorena Wiebes retained the leader’s green jersey with victory on stage two in Lancashire.
Plouffe, 27, who rides for British continental team O’Shea Red Chilli Bikes, said the incident happened on a roundabout as she was chasing back to the peloton, following a puncture on Wednesday.
She was taking part in the opening stage, which began and ended in Cockermouth.
Posting on Instagram, she wrote: “While the race convoy was still in sight, and I was less than two minutes down, there were cars from the general public coming at me from all directions, including one that nearly hit me on a roundabout.
“Later on, the moto escort was wonderful and I felt much safer. But considering the recent devastating events in our cycling community, it’s scary to see situations like this, when we know that this can have horrific consequences, especially so soon after suffering such a tragedy.”
Plouffe was referring to the death of 19-year-old British rider Fin Tarling, who was killed last week in a high-speed collision with a van, which had strayed on to the road during the eighth stage of the Volta a Portugal.
Before the Tour of Britain Women began, there was a tribute to Tarling with a photograph of him projected on to a large screen and a minute’s applause which all 114 riders and spectators took part in.
Tarling was the younger brother of Netcompany Inoes rider Josh Tarling, who was announced on Thursday in the team’s line-up for the Vuelta a Espana three-week Grand Tour, which begins on Saturday.
Reacting to Plouffe’s social media post, Jonathan Day, the events director of British Cycling Ventures – a commercial entity of British Cycling, which organises the Tour of Britain Women – issued a statement to the BBC.
In it, Day said: “We note Maeve Plouffe’s comments about her experience during yesterday’s race, and we’re taking these extremely seriously.
“Rider safety is paramount and will always be treated as a priority in our planning and how we operate any race.
“We’re reviewing what happened with Maeve and her team O’Shea Red Chilli Bikes with the seriousness and empathy these comments demand.
“We recognise this comes at an especially difficult time for the cycling community, so we want to reassure all riders, teams and fans of the sport at this time of how serious we are treating these comments.”
