– There was an incident with Bauke Mollema here that was a bit bizarre, says Norway’s cycling star Sven Erik Bystrøm to news. The Norwegian is referring to a video of the Dutch cycling star that has gone viral in recent days. Mollema was driving a training session when he was attacked and frightened by shoes in the championship city of Wollongong in Australia. In the team sprint that followed, he was attacked by a seagull. And the Dutchman is not the only one who has felt the wrath of the birds. Remco Evenepoel also experienced a bird attack during a training session earlier in the championship. – A rather large magpie came very close to me and followed me. It was terrifying, the Belgian told cyclingnews.com. STJERNE: – I’m afraid of them, the newly crowned winner of the Vuelta a España has said about the Australian birds. Photo: Manu Fernandez / AP Have to pull away Several riders have also experienced aggressive birds, and especially seagulls and skunks during their stay in Australia. But why did they attack the riders, many have asked themselves? The answer is quite natural, according to bird experts. It is mating season for the Australian birds. If they feel that their young are threatened, they can become aggressive. AUTUMN-YR: The seagulls are territorial during the mating season, which makes cyclists tick, says a local veterinarian to radio station Wawe FM. Photo: Beate Oma Dahle / NTB – If a seagull attacks, it is because they have young very close that they are defending. The best thing is to withdraw a little, advises Ingar Jostein Øien to news. He is specialist manager at Birdlife Norway. The island believes the birds are in the middle of breeding season and can react strongly if people get too close. – It is rare that they resort to physical attack. If seagulls get angry, they like to dive down, scream and fly over people’s heads. They are usually half a meter away and fly up again. It can be frightening in itself, but it is rare that they resort to physical attack. – How should the riders handle this? – I understand that they can get out of balance and be disturbed by it, but you just have to keep a cool head, says Øien, who advises that you pull away quickly. – The stupidest thing you do is to stay standing on the same spot, he says. Don’t worry Bystrøm is one of six Norwegian riders who will start at the joint start on Sunday 24 September in Helensburgh. He is not worried about birds putting a stop to Norway’s medal chances. READY: Bystrøm is ready for the joint start on Sunday, hopefully without aggressive birds present. Photo: Geir Olsen / NTB – I’m not really worried. If I were to think too much about it, it would have been the wrong focus. The Norwegian team lives about an hour south of the host city of Wollongong, and according to Bystrøm, has not experienced any problems with either seagulls or skunks. He admits that they mostly laugh at the situation, but adds that they are ready in case something happens. – We’ve seen pictures and videos from other teams, so we’re a bit prepared in any case.
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Aggressive birds scare Bauke Mollema and Sven Erik Bystrøm during the cycling WC in Australia – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
