About 50 cyclists - including Australian racer Kate Nichols, who was injured in a 2005 German road racing crash in which a teammate was killed - have been involved in a hit-and-run crash in Sydney this morning. The resulting smash forced a semitrailer to lock up, jackknife and screech to a halt behind the cyclists while cars had to swerve to avoid them.


Also involved in the crash, at 6.35am on Southern Cross Drive, south of the corner of Dacey Avenue in Mascot, were former Olympians Ben Kersten, Kate's father Kevin Nichols, Graeme Brown, Michelle Ferris and Matthew White. Witnesses to the crash have told smh.com.au the group of up to 60 professional cyclists were riding south on Southern Cross Drive, just south of Dacey Avenue, Mascot about 6.30am when a driver, agitated with being held up, accelerated in front of the pack and then slammed on his brakes, giving the riders no time to stop.


Olympic preparations derailed
Kersten, speaking from a chiropractor's surgery where he was having his injuries assessed, said he feared his preparation for the Beijing Olympics could be derailed by the incident. "I did hurt myself, I'm not broken or anything, but I am going to need a few days' recovery," he said. "I'm having trouble bending my arm, my hip's all flared up. I rolled my ankle so it's not something you just walk straight through, but a lot of other people looked a lot worse than me. It's just a disgrace, an absolute disgrace.


"I have an Olympic trial in two-and-a half weeks for the last remaining spot [on the team] so it's not very good timing at all.
"I've got to get a new bike now, I've got to worry about my injuries, I'm supposed to be at training now but I'm at the chiropractor. Every day counts. This is not what you need."
Kersten said motorists needed to learn to share the road with cyclists. "This is our training ground. We can't ride round and round a football stadium at 60kmh. The law states we are allowed on the road. A brutal death match on the road is not going to solve anything," he said. "We're so lucky somebody isn't dead, we were pushing 60kmh, sprawled all over the road with trucks going past. I really don't know how someone isn't dead, that's all I can say."


Kersten said any person found guilty of driving offences related to the crash should have to pay compensation to the riders whose equipment was damaged. "My bike suffered a fair bit of damage, it's carbon and it's got a crack in it and the wheels are written off," he said. "It's probably about $12,000 worth [of damage] but I am lucky enough to be sponsored by a [cycling manufacturer], so they will be able to do something, but there are 50 other bikes in the bunch that are not sponsored. "I definitely think [the driver] should [pay compensation]. I think there was probably close to $50,000 worth of bike damage done. "But I just want to see him go to jail, I don't give a hoot about the bikes because I don't think someone of that calibre is going to fork out one cent. I would rather see him go to jail."


Group called the Coluzzi Ride

One of the riders said the cycling group called itself the Coluzzi Ride after the Darlinghurst cafe it regularly set out from and was made up of "serious, A-grade riders and pros". "A lot of Olympians and professionals when they are in town join the ride, most of them are just higher level amateurs, you have to be pretty fast to keep up," said rider Nick Cooper, 27. One of the group said the motorist was "worrying" the rear of the pack, then overtook, pulled in front and slammed on his brakes, giving the riders no time to stop.


Slammed into each other

"Everyone's slammed into each other ... there were broken bikes - wheels busted and wheels snapped - and people lying on the road." Mr Cooper said: "Three female cyclists took the brunt of the accident, careering into the back of the braking vehicle, several of them being thrown into the air landing on the boot and roof of the car. "Most riders were left with cuts and bruises and at least some damage to bikes, shoes and helmets, including some bikes sustaining thousands of dollars of damage. "This whole incident really exemplified the escalating road rage towards cyclists happening on Sydney's roads. "Road rage seems to occur with or without provocation, and regardless of whether cyclists are riding in a law abiding way, or slowing down traffic.




Driver known to police

It is understood they know who the driver of the car is, and are attempting to contact him now. It is expected he will be charged, including with failing to stop at the scene of an accident and negligent or dangerous driving. There was no doubt the driver of the dark blue Ford Falcon - described by other witnesses as in his 30s with a female passenger - had done it deliberately, she said.
Everyone was particularly worried about Kate Nichols, given her involvement in the 2005 road crash in Germany in which national team member Amy Gillett was killed, Ferris said. "We were all very worried about her. When I saw her she was as white as a ghost still sitting on the ground." Nichols's father Kevin, who was also involved in the crash, said his daughter had only just begun riding again after a lengthy lay-off. "She's pretty shaken, it's a pretty shaking incident," he said. "She just started [riding again] last week, she had a long break and had just started out again. She hadn't ridden with this group for months. "She had had a bit of tiredness, issues being sorted out, she had started work and was taking it easy. She was sick last year, she had a virus."


Mr Nichols said he was not sure if the crash, so soon after the horrific injuries she suffered in Germany in 2005, would prompt his daughter to give the sport away completely. "Who knows?" he said. "You take each day as it comes with this sort of thing."


His daughter was not in contention for the Australian Olympic cycling team for this year's Games, he added. Mr Nichols said she was not badly injured but had a bump on the head and was having precautionary X-rays following the crash, which he described as "malicious". He said he saw the face of the driver of the Falcon and his female passenger, whom he believed were both aged in their 30s, and said they appeared to find their actions funny.

"Most motorists are really good, but clowns such as the person today are just one out of the box," he said.

road rage- I had it once and if my daughter being hadnt been in the van i may have done it. the driver of a pickup pulled next to me and knowing the lane that it was ending, he laughed at me and said he wasnt going to let me in.

when he's found can we run him over? :-D

sure would like to he had me more angry then i have ever been and im a 60yr old male.

ya'll seen the pics of that shit??? WOW, thats all I can say

I would have thought someone in their 30's would be past the prepubescent tactics used in this incident. Thankfully, no one was killed, but that is just by the grace of god of they were going that fast and actually contacted the stopped automobile.

Perhaps is they let him and the female companion get run over by a bevy of cyclists, they wouldn't think it so Gosh Darned funny.

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