Xandro Meurisse hit from behind by motorist, then blamed on Instagram

The Pinarello Q36.5-rider had completed the time trial between Évian les Bains and Thonon les Bains and decided to return by bike to loosen his legs.

Around one and a half kilometres from the start area, Meurisse was riding along the right side of the road near the lake. Two other cyclists were travelling ahead of him, while a car approached from behind.

Meurisse waited for the vehicle to pass before attempting to overtake the cyclists. Instead, the car struck his rear wheel.

“At first, I did not understand what had happened,” Meurisse told Sporza. “Then I saw the tyre mark and sealant on the back of the car.”

The impact left the 34-year-old with abrasions across his back, hip, elbow and knee. Despite the visible damage to his body and clothing, medical checks found no fractures.

Meurisse said the sudden nature of the collision had shaken him more than a typical crash inside a race.

“In a race, you can sometimes see a crash developing,” he said. “Being hit from behind is completely different. You have no chance to react.”

Meurisse was also angered by the reaction of the two people inside the car, both at the scene and after the incident.

“They both seemed to find it quite funny while they were standing there,” Meurisse said. “One of them, the driver, later sent me a message saying it was my own fault.”

The message was sent through Instagram. Meurisse said he could not determine whether the driver had struck him deliberately, but described the behaviour after the collision as particularly disturbing.

“The fact that someone still sends a message like that afterwards says a lot about the people involved,” he said.

“I am happy to still be here,” he said. “It means some extra work for the physiotherapists and mechanics, but we got away with cuts and bruises.”

After sleeping well, Meurisse was cleared to continue in the Tour. Before the collision, he had finished the time trial in 52nd place and was 56th in the general classification.

Meurisse was the second Tour de France rider to collide with a vehicle away from the secured race route that day.

Earlier, Brandon McNulty crashed into the back of a car while returning from a course reconnaissance. UAE Team Emirates XRG said the driver had overtaken the American before braking sharply in front of him.

McNulty was still able to start the time trial and finished 22nd.