Stage 2 of the ongoing Sibiu Tour in Rumania had a surprise spectator on Friday, when a large wild brown bear briefly watched the race convoy go past before jumping over a roadside barrier and making a swift exit.
The bear appeared in an isolated, deeply wooded, part of stage 2 of the Sibiu Tour, a 203 kilometre mountainous stage from Sibiu to the summit finish of Balea Lac.
Footage of the brown bear, spotted from a following team car as it stood on the side of the road as a sole 'spectator' for some seconds before heading off, was uploaded to X by cycling journalist Mihai Simion.
Rumania has one of the largest populations of Eurasian brown bears (Ursus arctos arctos) in central Europe.
This is far from the first time wild animals have come so close to a bike race, and in comparison to other times when bikes and beasts have crossed path it was comparatively lowkey. While newly crowned Italian champion Filippo Conca crashed into a marmot whilst training at altitude this summer and was off the bike for a week, a recent in-race case occurred on stage 8 of the 2024 Vuelta a España, when wild deer wreaked havoc in the race as they crossed the road, leaving riders injured and damaging both team car roof racks and bikes. Some jumped over and collided into race vehicles while Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) and Txomin Juaristi (Euskaltel-Euskadi) both crashed.
In the case of the inquisitive Rumanian bear in the Sibiu Tour, it did not return to find out about the outcome of stage 2, won by American climber Matthew Riccitello (Israel-Premier Tech), who has now moved into the overall lead of the four-day, 2.1 event. The 2025 Sibiu Tour itself finishes on Sunday.
