(Source: Reuters via Guardian)

You thought cycling in the city streets was brutal?  Wait till you see what these elite athletes on controlled racing environments like Tour de France face.  Here are a couple of pictures showing what the athletes face on the road. Apparently, the incident was triggered by an errant media vehicle covering, knocking one of the riders and leading to this massive crash (See video at the end of the article).  These images give you an idea of how dangerous a ride (apart from the energy sapping, grueling effort to finish each stage)  it is for these guys to win the crown of cycling world and what they endure on the course flying at 60kmph.  Despite the injuries, the brave biker shown here tangled in the fence, Johnny Hoogerland, managed to finish the stage before taken to hospital for further treatment. Click here to view the rest of the image gallery covering the horrific crashes from the race.

Driver of a French TV vehicle caused this incident during stage 9. Not only did his wild overtaking manoeuvre skittle rider Johnny Hoogerland, but it left Spain's Juan Antonio Flecha on the deck with his bike in pieces

Tour de France rider Johnny Hoogerland tries to free himself from a barb wire fence after he got thrown off his bicycle by a media vehicle during Stage 9

Click here to view the rest of the images.