February 14, 2012 – “It’s about the balance,” Team EKOÏ.com / Gaspesien rider Charles Matte summed up his race in Arizona last weekend. Charles, who is at a training camp in the south, took part in the Valley of the Sun race. During the second lap, a car unfortunately ventured onto the race course and ended up right in front of the pack. For any fan of racing, this is the worst place to see a motorist who does not know what is happening. The peloton had just accelerated in single file up to 50 kph. With cries from the crowd and seeing the bikes behind, the driver completely stopped the vehicle!

Several cyclists were unable to avoid the vehicle, with Charles Matte finishing his race in the rear windshield of the car. Upon his release from hospital yesterday, Charles explained that he had been very lucky with only a dislocated finger and some stitches. His Devinci bike was less fortunate: “It looked like a carbon pretzel!”

Charles will be at the Montreal Bicycle Show at the official launch of the EKOÏ.com / Gaspesien team this weekend. You can meet him and talk about his scary experience.