Though slow and steady may not win the race in the world of competitive cycling, neither does quite literally knocking out your competition, an important lesson one biker learned the hard way.


Advertisement

Back in April, Polish cyclist Filip Maciejuk discovered that there are no shortcuts in life — or the Tour of Flanders — inadvertently bringing Belgium’s annual springtime race to a screeching halt after he found himself riding on a grassy patch adjacent to the course.



While at first, it appeared this allegedly accidental circumstance may have worked out in Maciejuk’s favor, the 23-year-old landing towards the front of the pack, things took a turn for the slapstick when he veered too far inwards, knocking several of his competitors to the ground in a domino effect once thought to be reserved for old school Looney Tunes gags.


Shortly after the incident, which impacted 30 of his fellow riders, the biker headed to Twitter to offer an apology.



“I’m really sorry for my mistake and causing the crash today,” he wrote. “I hope all those involved are in good health and safe. This should not happen and was a big error in my judgment.”


But this apology clearly wasn’t enough to sway the Union Cycliste Internationale, whose Disciplinary Commission opted to slap Maciejuk with a 30-day ban from the sport, per road.cc.


Though it’s unclear whether this cycling ban also spanned to peloton classes and neighborhood sprints, one thing is certain — his neighbors learning to ride trikes better clear the f—king roads.