A controversial cycling group from the Gold Coast is under investigation for allegedly smashing a young woman’s mirror in a frightening confrontation at a set of traffic lights.
Cheryl Broadhurst, 23, says the group of cyclists were almost exclusively middle aged men, and they were consumed with anger towards her for no reason.
“At first I thought they merely wanted more room,” says the first year nurse. “But they wouldn’t let up. They were terrifying. When they saw I was a woman it was like they turned into snarling dogs wanting to go for the kill. I tried to get away but the traffic lights worked against me. They were hitting my car as hard as they could and then one of them deliberately smashed my left mirror.”
The cycling group, who are known to authorities for engaging in street racing every Sunday morning, are sponsored by a coffee shop bearing the same name as their jerseys.
In a video which has been leaked to Single File Please by a party involved in the matter, a middle aged male (believed to be the leader of the group) gesticulates angrily at a young female driver. In the video the rider is seen barging his way in front of his fellow cyclists in an effort to engage in conflict. This then commences an escalating confrontation which continues on further down the road and then the video comes to an end.
"Guys like this are killing the sport," says a source at the Gold Coast Cycling Club who wishes to remain anonymous.
“Running a cycling club is very difficult nowadays. There are so many mandatory costs which are forced on us by Cycling Australia before you can even start holding sanctioned races .
“As a registered cycling club we’re doing the right thing, we’re holding races away from the public on closed courses which cost a lot of money to get permits for. It costs a lot of money to have ambulances present, as well as insurance costs and the costs of having official commissaires.
“Meanwhile you’ve got these wankers who refuse to attend proper races because they’re too tight to pay a $15 entry fee. Instead they order matching kits from China and then they go racing around the streets every Sunday morning, pretending they’re all part of an official cycling team.
“But on top of that, the guy who runs this group actually tries to poach our riders. He tells them straight up, why pay to enter a race when you can come street racing with us for free?
“That’s the worst part. The public aren’t seeing dedicated athletes who give the sport a good name. The public are only seeing rogue groups like these idiots breaking road rules left right and centre. No wonder the sport has such a bad name.”
