• Football
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • Home
  • Football
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • Lionel Messi
    • Cristiano Ronaldo
    • EA FC 25
    • Wrexham
  • Boxing
    • Tyson Fury
    • Anthony Joshua
    • Oleksandr Usyk
    • Mike Tyson
    • Jake Paul
    • Logan Paul
  • UFC
    • Dana White
    • Conor McGregor
    • Khabib Nurmagomedov
    • Jon Jones
    • Paddy Pimblett
    • Joe Rogan
  • Other Sport
    • Athletics
    • Formula 1
    • MMA
    • Motorsport
    • NBA
    • Darts
    • NFL
    • Snooker
    • Wrestling
    • Tennis
    • Cricket
    • Golf
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
World championship cyclists attacked by swooping magpies in Australia

Home> Other

Published 04:03 22 Sep 2022 GMT+1

World championship cyclists attacked by swooping magpies in Australia

With the 2022 UCI Road World Championships underway in Wollongong, magpie swooping has emerged as an incredibly serious distraction.

Jayden Collins

Jayden Collins

If you’re a professional cyclist planning for a world championship then you probably wouldn’t have magpie dodging in your preparations. 

With the 2022 UCI Road World Championships underway in Wollongong, about 90km south of Sydney, magpie swooping has emerged as an incredibly serious distraction.

Magpies are notorious for their springtime swopping as they aim to ‘protect’ their family from the vicious cyclists.

Advert

Although many competitors have already had to navigate multi-hour flights, logistics of bringing their equipment, and visa issues, they are currently facing their toughest test yet.

Dutch cyclist Bauke Mollema posted a video that was equal parts terrifying and hilarious of himself and team Netherlands getting attacked by the swooping pests.

That magpie was clearly out for blood.

Advert

Meanwhile, other riders have come under attack such as Belgian cyclist Remco Evenepoel who detailed his horrifying magpie stalking situation 

He was reported as saying via Stuff.co: “A fairly large bird came very close, and it just kept following me.

“It was terrifying. But that's Australia, apparently. I hope it's the only time it happens, but I am afraid of it.”

Unfortunately, if you’re in Australia odds are it won’t be the final time it happens.

They aren’t just targeting the international athletes who may have an added layer of fear towards the beasts.

Advert

Aussie cyclist Grace Brown told reporter Kieran Pender that she had been swopped twice during training for the competition.

Although, she didn’t let the swooping birds get in her way as she came in second in the women’s time trial.

I mean, the UCI probably should’ve done their due diligence in mapping out the racing track, considering there is literally a bird swooping warning toward the end of the finish-line, as per Pender.

The sign reads: “Birds swooping! Dismount and walk your bike through this area.”

Advert

Swiss rider Stefan Kung was another cyclist who had experienced quite an incident.

“Really? They're talking about birds attacking. But yeah, one of our guys has been attacked already by a magpie,” Kung said.

While cyclists are certainly accustomed to the dangers of the sport, this certainly wasn’t what they bargained for. 

In fact, the consequences of the bird attacks have proved fatal in the past.

Advert

In 2019 a man was killed in the city of Wollongong after crashing his bike while attempting to avoid a swooping magpie.

Although very rarely do the attacks result in such consequences, the world will be hoping nothing of the sort eventuates over the next week.

Featured Image Credit: @whereisdaz/Twitter. Joshua Prieto / Alamy.

Topics: Cycling, Australia

Jayden Collins
Jayden Collins

Jayden Collins is a Journalist at SPORTbible. He has worked across multiple media platforms in areas such as sport, music, pop culture, entertainment and politics. He is part of the editorial team for LADbible Australia.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

12 hours ago
2 days ago
3 days ago
4 days ago
  • 12 hours ago

    Los Angeles Olympics set to include game-changing addition which Paris failed to bring in

    The 2028 Olympic Games will introduce a never-before-seen addition that was planned for Paris.

    Other
  • 2 days ago

    A Ferrari supercar raced a championship go-kart and the result shocked everyone

    The results were eye-opening.

    Other
  • 3 days ago

    Paralympic athlete handed lifetime ban from sport after failing disability test

    The athlete reportedly failed a mandatory medical classification test.

    Other
  • 4 days ago

    Olympian sent home for breaking Olympic village rules with boyfriend spoke out after having 'dream' destroyed

    The Olympian was left in tears after she was made to leave the Paris Olympic Games.

    Other
  • 18-year-old cyclist tragically dies following crash at World Championships
  • Golf star narrowly misses stunning hole-in-one after 'out of this world' drive during PGA Championship round two
  • WST forced to release statement as Zhao Xintong wins World Championship amid player 'outrage'
  • Zhao Xintong set to lose nearly half of his World Snooker Championship prize money after beating Mark Williams