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We’ve all seen the iconic footage of the horse joining a peloton of cyclists in 1997 during the Critérium International, a three-stage race held in southern France.
It shows a brown horse leaping over a fence and joining a group of cyclists while TV cameras roll. The footage later made it into the French film Amélie and went viral again in 2023, when it resurfaced.
Now, the internet is buzzing over a similar incident during the opening stage of the 2024 Arden Challenge in Belgium’s Luxembourg province.
The video shows a brown and white horse galloping behind a peloton of riders – its rider missing.
Luckily, 23-year-old cyclist Lars Daniels, who grew up around horses, knew exactly what to do as he broke away from the group and took control of the runaway horse.
“I do indeed have some experience with horses. As a little boy, I grew up at a horse-riding school, and today, I still go to jumping events. I have some friends who still often ride horses,” Lars told the Flemish newspaper, Het Nieuwsblad, following the incident.
After handing the horse over to a police officer, Lars continued to finish the race with his fellow cyclists. He was praised for his professionalism in handling a situation that could have easily turned out bad.
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