A pensioner on a mobility scooter caused a massive, high-speed crash during the LVM Saarland Trofeo in Germany, leaving several junior cyclists tumbling across the tarmac. The incident took place during the fourth and final stage of the event, which is a prominent junior multi-day race held annually in the Saarland region, near the borders of France and Luxembourg. According to the Australian Broadcasting Company, the collision involved 17-year-old Dutch rider Paul Vriesman, who was sent somersaulting through the air after slamming into the scooter. The scene was captured on video, and the footage quickly went viral across social media. The Express noted that the race is part of the UCI Junior Nations Cup, which attracts elite 17-year-old and 18-year-old riders from around the world. Vriesman, who rides for the Decathlon CMA CGM junior program, posted his take on Instagram after the event. “Nasty crash but it looks like I got away with it relatively well and with no major injuries. Not the way I was hoping to finish my first week back to racing after a few months of rehab, though.” He added, “I made some big steps this week towards coming back to my old form. Sad to have to DNF this Saarland Trofeo this way due to an old lady who was just living in her own world.” The crash, while horrible to watch, fortunately has no major injuries The situation could have been much worse, given the tight nature of the course and the speed at which the peloton was traveling. ABC noted that while a Danish rider managed to dodge the mobility scooter at the very last second, Vriesman had no space to react, leading to the collision. The impact caused a pile-up that forced several other riders to fall as well. Per reports, all the riders involved are understood to have escaped without any serious injuries. It is believed that the elder spectator involved is also okay, though her mobility scooter likely sustained significant damage. There is little to no other information about her. View this post on Instagram Cyclinguptodate highlighted that this has been a difficult season for the young Dutchman. Before this viral crash, his start at Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne Juniors had also ended in an injury that required a three-month break from the sport. The outlet noted that Vriesman noted his frustration by saying, “Didn’t get to finish the race while every stage was feeling like a big step forward. Lost for words on how something like this can happen. So much hard work and yet another setback.” Despite the chaos caused by the spectator, the race continued to its conclusion. The Express noted that the final stage was won by Australia’s Alistair Forsyth, who rides for the Merida Adelaar Cycling Team. In the overall general classification, Sindre Orholm-Lonseth of Norway took the top spot. Orholm-Lonseth, who is a teammate of Vriesman, finished ahead of Splinter van ‘t Hoff, another Dutch teenager who also performed well throughout the stages. An older spectator caused a seriously dangerous incident today at SaarlandTrofeoJuniors by trying to get a better look and entering the course with her rollator while riders were flying past at full speed! byu/Full-Argument-8235 inSipsTea On both Instagram and Reddit, users were shocked that the situation could even happen. On Reddit, some pointed out the danger of an open course, with cdanl2 asking, “Is it common to have literally no barrier or tape separating the spectators from the racers? This seems like supremely negligent event design to me.” In response, ThelIIusion0fSeIf, mentioned, “You can’t secure the entire length of the course. Also, never doubt the power of human stupidity.” A massive portion of the commentators, however, were discussing the dangers of the elderly in certain scenarios. Some chose the sarcastic route, asking, “She get a better look?” Others discussed the dangers of the elderly using vehicles, with many making unfortunate, disparaging remarks towards the elderly. On Reddit, dextras07 wrote: “If she’s on her scooter and doesn’t grasp the amount of space she occupies, she’s definitely not trained enough to ride on it.” The largest group called for legal action against her because of how dangerous her actions were, irrespective of her age. Robbie1266 wrote, “Criminal negligence. Put her in jail…simple enough.” On Instagram, troy.barlow39 commented, “Needs to be charged with reckless endangerment..& made to pay for all damages…. so many out there these days ..there needs to be a licence to operate them & training on operating this equipment is required..” While the teens who took part in the junior race got away with minimal injuries, a cyclist in California suffered severe injuries after he collided with a black bear recently. Last year, a cyclist’s participation in a charity event saw him getting punched after a binman thought he was a creep.