Pasture to peloton: Vuelta a Andalucia joined by herd of unexpected racers
Pro cycling fans sure can be wild
It was another amoosing day of racing at the l in Spain for team Rally UHC Cycling on Saturday.
While Mitchelton-Scott’s Simon Yates stampeded to the stage win, the peloton were joined by some unexpected contestants in the fourth, and penultimate day of racing. A herd of cattle got caught up in the excitement of the early season stage race, and mooved into the road to join the race caravan following the riders.
Rally UHC’s Kevin Marques Oliveira was on hand for the candid cattle camera, catching the bovines as they made their break. The cows looked sharp, too. Proving they’re not just experts in their fields, they hold a perfect paceline as they hoofed it to hold on to the passing caravan.
There was no beef between the race caravan and cow convoy. Cars and cattle steered straight on their side of the road until the race caravan was free of the herd.
Spain’s Sierra Nevada mountain ranges may not quite be where the west commences, but Gene Autrey would still be proud of these bovine buds.
It’s not the first time livestock have livened up pro racing, either. A miniature horse caused a little commotion when it joined the Tour of Poland in 2017. A year earlier a couple of horses that couldn’t be corralled interrupted the Giro d’Italia.
Packs of pros have mixed the World Tour and animal kingdom in training, too. Michael Woods and his EF Education First-Drapac teammates found themselves in hot pursuit of a flock of sheep in the Girona hills. While that ended amicably, one Tucson rider was less lucky when faced with an deer on Mt. Lemmon. Down south, a Kangaroo kicked a passing cyclist, and on Australia day, no less.
