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Cyclist sprayed with chemicals by angry driver

The triathlete was left momentarily blind and unable to breathe

Image: The West Australian
Image: The West Australian

An Australian triathlete was sprayed in the face with industrial fluid by an angry motorist. She was out on a training ride this past Sunday morning.

According to The West Australian, Anthea Stacey, 23, was out riding with a friend when a car approached her from behind, sounded a horn with the window down, swerved within centimetres of the two riders and sprayed the chemicals in her face.

She was left momentarily blind and unable to breathe.

“He swerved in close to me and sprayed. It shocked me, I couldn’t breathe,” she said.

Another cyclist’s camera captured a similar event just up the road, with another group of cyclists.

Stacey says she has been riding in Western Australia for eight years and has observed hostile drivers in the past.

“You are always getting drivers who will give you an aggressive toot and will drive too close, people yelling at you,” she said. “It’s the mentality. We are not out there to do harm but they just can’t stand it. It can be quite scary because if you flinch you can come off.”

Stacey has reported the event to the police but charges have yet to be laid.

With files from Claire Tyrrell and Triathlon Magazine Canada.

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