Horses get in Lara's way

At the Vuelta a Asturias on Tuesday, T-Mobile rider Paco Lara' chances of a stage win were ruined by straying horses colliding with the team car. "The vehicle caravan excited the horses, causing them to jump out of their paddock and into our car," reported directeur sportif Brian Holm, who suffered no more than a fright in the accident. The team car, on the other hand, suffered a worse fate. "The car is a totally ruined. The lights and windscreen were smashed," the Dane said.

However, just as this happened, T-Mobile rider Paco Lara punctured in front, which made the wheel-changing task unexpectedly more difficult, as the spare wheels on top of the vehicle were also destroyed. "By the time our other team car made it to where Paco was, he had completely lost touch with the bunch," said Holm. Lara had been riding at the front of the leading group when the incident happened, "but there was of course no way back for him after that", added Holm. In the end, Lara crossed the line in 22nd position, 3.41 down on the Ukrainian stage winner Mikhaylo Khalilov.

Brian Holm, however, was able to see the funny side of things. "Fortunately it wasn't the Tour of Malaysia. There, it would have been two elephants colliding with me!," he concluded.