One of the UK’s leading young cyclists has been forced to pull out of this week’s Tour of Britain after being hit at “high speed” by a 4×4 driver, who she said then verbally abused her.
Kate Richardson, who won the women’s individual pursuit at the British Track Cycling Championships in February and was a European under-23 champion last year, said she had broken her collarbone again after the “incredibly scary” incident.
“I was on a narrow single track road, no more than 3m wide, on a blind bend and clearly the driver couldn’t wait 10 more seconds to overtake me,” she wrote on Instagram. “He decided to try and squeeze his huge 4×4 past me at a high speed, hitting me hard and knocking me off my bike.
“Initially, he just drove on but turned around and came back later to verbally abuse and threaten me before getting back in his car and driving off again. Thankfully another driver came across the scene pretty quickly and kindly helped me up and drove me home.”
The 21-year-old from Glasgow, who posted pictures of her badly damaged cycling kit, said she had also suffered road rash and severe bruising across her right hip in the incident. She confirmed she would miss the Tour of Britain, which starts on Thursday.
“I’m currently uncertain about what the rest of the season holds,” she added. “This is a lot more than just a physical injury, it was incredibly scary and I count myself lucky that I walked away relatively unscathed compared to what it could have been.”
Richardson, who also won the women’s edition of the Lincoln Grand Prix on the road last month, said she had reported the incident to South Yorkshire police.
“Mentally though, it will take a while to overcome,” she added. “Knowing that once again I’ll be missing a key racing block, whilst knowing what sort of shape I’ve worked so hard to be in, is hugely disappointing and hard to get my head around.
“The police are dealing with the incident, and with witnesses and potential CCTV footage I’m hopeful that some sort of justice will prevail.”