Tour de France cyclist Sepp Kuss nearly fell off a cliff edge as he narrowly avoided a major crash.
The American was leading Stage 20 on Saturday before two mistakes saw him looming over a near-fatal drop.
As Kuss came around a corner towards the end of the Alpe d’Huez, he took his line too wide, colliding with barriers on the edge of the road.
Only a safety net and the brickwork stopped him from heading down the cliff edge.
Sepp Kuss nearly fell off the edge of a cliff
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TNTSPORTS
Kuss put his left foot on the floor and went sliding across the barrier, with very little between him and a major fall.
Fortunately for the American, he regained his balance before hopping back on his bike.
TNT Sports pundit Matt Stephens said the incident was “a life-or-death moment”.
Kuss was then overtaken by Richard Carapaz, who went on to win Stage 20.
Kuss put his left foot on the floor and went sliding across the barrier
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TNTSPORTS
The American had fallen earlier in the race in a tunnel before the almost fatal mistake.
Speaking afterwards, Kuss said: “It was a bit scary, sorry to my wife and my family watching at home. That’s racing.
“I’m happy with the fight and the performance, and it was a big day out.
“I was so on the limit, I misjudged the corner a bit. First in the tunnel, and then after that I was still trying to make up too much time.”
Kuss said: ‘It was a bit scary, sorry to my wife and my family watching at home’
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TNTSPORTS
He continued: “I was more just annoyed because we actually drove down it this morning.
“I was looking at it and thinking: ‘That’s a decent corner, no problem.’
“In the race I took it pretty full on. It was a bit more of a corner than I expected.
“My wife is not going to be too happy. She always tells me not to take any risks on the downhill. You have to have a little adrenaline every once in a while.”
Kuss said his wife ‘always tells me not to take any risks on the downhill’
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REUTERS
The American did go on to win the most combative rider of the day.
However, he was soon given a one-minute time penalty, had 75 UCI points deducted, and was fined 1,500 Swiss francs (£1,380) for two littering offences.
Kuss got rid of his rubbish outside of the designated zones, which led to the punishments.