August 21, 2008 (Sutton, QC) — Eric Boily (Volkswagen), team mate Christian Deshaies, and Francois (Frank) Parisien (Team RACE) were on a training ride Wednesday (yesterday) afternoon in the Eastern Townships region when they were attacked by an irate motorist according to Team Volkswagen coach, Josee Robitaille.

“At first the driver passed very, very close to the three cyclists on a road where there was no other traffic. These guys are very experienced cyclists and they are used to being around cars, but this was excessive. Frank caught up with the driver a short while later in an urban area and asked the driver what the problem was. The driver then got out of his car and attacked Frank, punching him in the face, knocking him onto the ground and began strangling him. Eric arrived and moved to pull the driver off Frank, but the driver punched him as well. Then Christian arrived and with the help of onlookers, they restrained the motorist and waited for police to arrive. “

Parisien suffered a concussion as a result of the attack and was later transported to hospital in nearby Cowansville. Robitaille says that he is alright today and remembers nothing of the incident. The motorist was arrested for assault and battery and for making death threats. The man is known to police said Robitaille and surprisingly is 65 years old.

“Frank and Eric are top level riders, but they’re lightweight athletes. This, together with the extra strength that people in a crazed state of mind often have along with the element of a surprise attack gave the assailant the upper hand,” she explained.

Robitaille mentioned that Parisien had called her earlier to get Boily’s telephone number to organize the ride. The two cyclists are friends and ride for different teams. Robitaille said she’s never heard of a similar incident but a report on this incident on Veloptimum (in French) makes mention of a similar attack on Charles Dionne (Successful Living) in 2003 near Quebec City.