A Russian cyclist stripped fully naked to reveal his gruesome injuries following a crash at the Four Days of Dunkirk event in France.
Gleb Syritsa, 23, fell off his bike during the opening stage of the six-day event on Tuesday. Despite sustaining nasty injuries to his right leg, right shoulder, right arm and upper back, the cyclist managed to get back on his bike and finish the 196.6km route.
Syritsa and his Astana Qazaqstan Team colleagues Cees Bol and Yuriy Natarov crossed the finish line in joint 123rd, placing just behind the main peloton. The first stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk event was marred with crashes, with Bol also coming off his bike.
Astana Qazaqstan Team's Twitter account uploaded a photo of Syritsa naked, showing the full extent of his injuries. The racer seemed in good spirits despite his crash, smiling and giving a thumbs up to the camera.
Fans on social media wished Syritsa a speedy recovery. "He's not going to get much sleep for a while," tweeted one cycling enthusiast, while another wrote: "Cyclists are made of tough stuff. Imagine getting in the shower after that."
Eurosport's Twitter account also wrote: "Cycling is not for the faint-hearted." Astana Qazaqstan Team have confirmed Syritsa's injuries have been treated. Their tweet read: "Gleb Syritsa banged-up all over the body but he is a strong fighter. Heal well, Gleb!"
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Yet Syritsa was not able to start the second stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk event due to his injuries. Astana Qazaqstan Team tweeted: "Gleb Syritsa did not start in stage 2 due to a bad night, dizziness and infected wounds. Get better soon, Gleb!"
Olav Kooij, a 21-year-old from the Netherlands who was representing Team Jumbo-Visma, won the opening stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk event. "It was a question of timing", Kooij told Team Jumbo-Visma's website after the opening stage.
"The last few kilometres we were riding into the wind, so it was challenging to prepare a perfect sprint as a team. The peloton went from left to right, so the situation was never under control. I didn't see the crash, but I heard it. I hope everyone is OK."
Syritsa joined Astana Qazaqstan Team earlier this year after turning professional. The Russian's speciality is sprinting.
Road cycling is a dangerous sport. British favourite Mark Cavendish, who is currently riding for Astana Qazaqstan Team, skidded over the finishing line of the fifth stage of the Giro d'Italia earlier this month after suffering a heavy crash in the wet conditions.
"[My] knee is a little sore but don't think anything is broken," Cavendish told reporters after the incident. The two-time Tour de France points classification winner recovered from that disappointment to finish third in Wednesday's sprint at the Giro d'Italia.
