During the recent UCI World Cup in Hong Kong, Russian trackie (competing neutral) Nikita Kiriltsev basically said, “Hey, Chris Froome, hold my vodka.”
We all remember that wild scene during Stage 12 of the 2016 Tour de France. Yellow jersey Chris Froome was forced to run up Mont Ventoux after his bike got smoked by a moto. He eventually received a spare bike, but the chaos cost him significant time–but gave us one of the wildest scenes in pro cycling. The stage was later adjusted by race officials due to the unusual circumstances.
(As further proof that we do, in fact, live in a simulation, Froome just reenacted the day at a fondo.)
E essa zoeira entre Froome e Valverde no Gran Fondo Panamá. pic.twitter.com/tcm2Wg64m5
— O País Do Ciclismo (@opaisdociclismo) April 20, 2026
The weirdest keirin finish ever
There was a brutal crash in the keirin qualifiers that meant the entire bunch went down–save for France’s Tom Derache, who cruised to the win. But the six other riders of the 7-rider heat were on the ground, with either broken bodies or broken bikes. Kiriltsev was the latter. Even though his ride was down for the count, some quick thinking on his part meant he sprinted the final 200 m to take that last spot.
The best part is finally some of the others remounted and were chasing the running Russian, including American Geneway Tang, who almost caught him. Because, well, you know, cycling is faster than running.
And despite the weirdness of running on a (bike) track, it’s all legit. UCI rule 1.2.109 says that riders can cross the finish line on foot, as long as they have their bicycle with them. (It’s like they have a rule for everything, don’t they?)
This was the second round of the UCI Track World Cup. The next stop is Malaysia, where a trimmed down Canadian team will compete.
Anyway, watch this amazing bit of bike racing…erm, bike running? Or as the Raketa components Instagram account coined it: “Tracklecross.” The term hopefully will never, ever be used again. Or there will be a whole new bike discipline.
(Cut to: Olympic Games exhibition sport at the 2032 games.)