Kangaroo crosses the road at the Tour Down Under and causes a huge fall among the cyclists

An incredible episode marked the last stage of the Tour Down Under 2026 in Australia: a kangaroo suddenly invaded the road, causing a group of cyclists to fall. The frightened animal jumped among the runners, surprising them while they were traveling along a straight line at high speed and causing numerous athletes to fall to the ground.

The kangaroo then walked away, unsure of his steps and visibly confused, probably due to the blow he received following the impact with the cyclists. There are no updates on his health, but we all hope that he has recovered quickly.

The words of the Australian Jay Vine

Among the cyclists involved, the leader of the classification Jay Vine, teammate of Tadej Pogacar, managed to get up and resume the race, finally taking the final victory. Vine, Australian, recounted the incident, underlining the dangers of wild animals:

People always ask me what the most dangerous thing in Australia is, I always say: kangaroos. They hide in the bushes, then suddenly you find them in front of you. Today we had proof of this. Two kangaroos jumped into the group, I think we were going 50km/h. One of them stopped, went right and then left, and I couldn’t avoid it. Luckily I’m fine, but I’m also thinking about Mikkel.

Illustrious retreats due to the fall

In fact, not all runners had the same luck. Mikkel Bjerg, Vine’s teammate, was forced to retire due to the fall. Other athletes also suffered consequences: Menno Huising suffered a broken collarbone. Despite the chaos, the stage ended regularly. Matthew Brennan won the final stage ahead of Fisher-Black and Andersen.

Among the Italians, Andrea Raccagni Noviero, a twenty-one year old from Soudal, achieved the best placing, finishing sixth in the general classification and winning the white jersey of the best youngster while, as mentioned, the Tour Down Under victory went to Jay Vine.

This is not the first time such incidents have occurred

An unexpected event that underlines how much wildlife can influence high-level sporting events. Many times in the history of cycling, accidents have occurred due to animals crossing the road, often stray dogs, not on a leash or escaping from their owners because they were frightened by the crowd and noise of the bikes and cars that accompany the races.

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