A women’s cycling race in Norway has been ruined by a draw bridge.
The Ladies Tour of Norway , a four-day race which finished yesterday in Fredrikstad, was put on hold when a bridge running on a timer delayed the final stage of the course.
Aerial footage shows how cyclists in the lead were forced to come to a grinding halt, as the bridge unexpectedly opened to let boats through.
The leads of four riders were affected.
There was only 5km left in the course when the bridge opened.
Race organisers told PA Sport that the bridge runs on a timer that’s set in Oslo.
The bridge was scheduled to stay closed and let cyclists through without interruption but the stage was slower than expected, meaning it opened for boats to be let through.
The four-day cycling race Ladies Tour of Norway was put on hold when a draw bridge opened to let boats through, grinding the race to a halt, pictured
The race was soon restarted with all riders starting together. Four of them – Katarzyna Pawlowska, Leah Kirchmann, Rossella Ratto, and Mieke Kröger – all lost their near 30second leads.
Australian cyclist Chloe Hosking went on to win the restarted stage.
The four-day cycling race Ladies Tour of Norway was put on hold when a draw bridge opened to let boats through, grinding the race to a halt, pictured
She told Australia’s Daily Telegraph: ‘There was a break just up the road and then all of sudden we rounded a corner, and I saw the motos stopping and the boom gates going down and the whole peloton stopping.’
‘Luckily the girls had moved me up to the front, so when we stopped, we were right at the front.’
The four-day cycling race Ladies Tour of Norway was put on hold when a draw bridge opened to let boats through, grinding the race to a halt, pictured
The four-day cycling race Ladies Tour of Norway was put on hold when a draw bridge opened to let boats through, grinding the race to a halt, pictured
The race was soon restarted in a single group, pictured, but four cyclists lost their near 30 second leads in the final stage of the Ladies Tour of Norway
The race was soon restarted in a single group, pictured, but four cyclists lost their near 30 second leads in the final stage of the Ladies Tour of Norway