Robbie Hunter in Roadside punch-up?

It was reported in the Namibian press this morning that Robbie Hunter was involved in a fight with a motorist.<br />According to the report the fight ensued after the motorist tried to force Robby and two friends of the road.<br /><br />Hunter apparently broke a bone in his right hand.<br /><br />Anybody else heard anything ?

 

[quote author=Leon link=board=6;threadid=2832;start=0#msg23954 date=1041590292]<br />It was reported in the Namibian press this morning that Robbie Hunter was involved in a fight with a motorist.<br />According to the report the fight ensued after the motorist tried to force Robby and two friends of the road.<br /><br />Hunter apparently broke a bone in his right hand.<br /><br />Anybody else heard anything ?<br />[/quote]<br /><br />Nope....but keep an eye out on cyclingnews.com they will probably cover it tomorrow! Maybe you could email them the story you read?<br /><br />cheers!

 

Here is the full story.<br /><br />&quot;Robert Hunter on Wednesday elected not to comment on his alleged skirmish with a motorist, but said he will defend his innocence with all possible means – even if it means going to court with the matter. <br />The incident allegedly took place on the outskirts of Muldersdrift on the West Rand while Hunter and two friends were out on an early morning training ride earlier this week. <br /><br />A charge of attempted assault has been laid against Hunter, who was allegedly threatened with a gear lock. He, in turn, has also laid charges against the motorist. <br /><br />Hunter's hand was broken in the altercation. According to his manager, Tony Harding, Hunter acted in self defence and he is very shaken up. “It again highlights how dangerous it is for him and all cyclists to apply their trade on South African roads. <br /><br />“We have appointed a top notch lawyer to defend him. Robert feels the case, if it ever goes to court, will provide the public with an insight into the plight of South African cyclists who very often have to deal with harsh conditions on the road,” said Harding. <br /><br />“We are not prepared to comment on any factual aspect of the case and the matter is now entirely in the hands of our legal team,” he said. <br /><br />According to Harding the broken hand Hunter suffered won’t hamper his training in any way leading into his 2003 season with Dutch outfit Rabobank. <br /><br />“He underwent surgery on the evening of the incident and was already back on his bike this morning. He will be fully recovered within six weeks and it won’t affect his racing programme,” said Harding.&quot;

 

Interesting.....i've felt like doing that a few times in the past we'll have to keep an eye on this one<br /><br />cheers!

 

According to the Star:<br /><br />&quot;Robert Hunter, the South African cyclist of the year, has laid charges of assault and reckless driving against a motorist and his family who allegedly attacked him in what he describes as the worst case of road rage he has ever seen.<br /><br />The altercation left Europe-based Hunter needing surgery to his hand, which could disrupt his pre-season training for up to six weeks. He had a pin inserted into his hand on New Year's Eve. Yesterday, when The Star spoke to him, he was still bewildered by Monday's attack.<br /><br />&quot;I was on a training ride out to Muldersdrift and back with two mates when a guy in a car screamed past us and almost took out one of my friends,&quot; said Hunter. &quot;When we got to the stop street, I told him to watch where he was driving and he just lost his cool. He stopped his car in the middle of the road and started swearing at us. He picked up his gearlock and threatened to hit us.<br /><br />&quot;So we held his door shut to keep him inside the car and told him to relax, but he said he was going to get us. I'd say he was about fifty.&quot;<br />Hunter said that the motorist began following them and they decided to ride to Honeydew police station.<br /><br />Hunter called his brother and asked him to meet them on the road and escort them. The three cyclists waved the motorist over and told him they were going to the police station, which apparently sent him into a new rage.<br /><br />&quot;He waved his gearlock at us again, so we took it off him and threw it into the bush. I then reached in and took his car keys out of the ignition and told him he could retrieve them from the police station.&quot;<br /><br />Soon after Hunter's brother arrived and began driving behind the cyclists, two cars pulled up behind his brother. &quot;They followed us for about 10km. They came screaming past my brother and drove right into us. The one car hit me and I ended up on the pavement. Two big guys (who identified themselves as the son and son-in-law of the older motorist) got out of the cars and attacked us. I defended myself and broke my hand in the process.&quot;<br /><br />Hunter then went to the police station, where he laid charges. The older motorist has laid a charge of attempted assault. One of the assailants was taken to hospital with a suspected ruptured eye socket.<br /><br />This is the latest in a series of road rage incidents between motorists and cyclists. In February last year, a driver ploughed his car into a group of cyclists on a training ride in Cape Town. The cyclists claimed the motorist swerved into them twice, injuring 16 of the 80 cyclists in the bunch.<br /><br />Hunter is the only South African to have competed in the world's biggest annual sporting event, the Tour de France. <br /> &quot;<br /><br /><br />

 

Unbelievable.<br /><br />I just can't believe that the riders didn't get off of their bikes and move the bikes and themselves as far off of the road as possible. I, like most of us, have had words with motorists in the past and I feel so darn vulnerable staying on my bike and in the road. I can't imagine telling a driver that I am headed to the police station while they are driving along next to me. I would expect that to throw them into a rage.<br /><br />But then...I once told a motorist, as he opened his car door, that if he got out of the car I would bite his nose off of his face. Luckily he reconsidered and stayed in the car. I guess that it is easy to question others from the comfort of my couch.

 

I reported a motorist to the police myself just a couple of weeks ago. I didn't even bother telling her I was going to do it - I just did it. There is absolutely no point trying to reason with someone in that state of mind, it's just a complete waste of time.<br /><br />Sounds to me like that's what the cyclists in this case should have done. Of course, if it's someone of Robbie Hunter's profile involved, it might highlight the problem enough to get something done about it.

 

Yeah right, <br /><br />insofar as the cyclists rights are concerned, I am very sceptical that anything will be done. The government is so inept at handling issues of public safety that they can't even enforce a decent penalty for hijackers.<br /><br />I'm afraid I think we're on our own out there and will be for many years. And I don't think South Africa is the only country with such a problem.<br /><br />We had a driver aim for us this morning obviously trying to play some wing mirror tennis. Fortunately he missed and greeted our waves with the middle finger. Funny that it was also the Muldersdrift Area. (and no, we were not looking for Robert Hunter, although I would love to have the opportunuty to ride with him.)<br /><br />I would support Robert in a court case if he needed any.

 

South African motorists are ignorant and full of crap. In the middle of last year we where on a bunch ride at about 6am the Saturday morning. <br /><br />On the way to the club, a car heading towards me veered into my lane. When I veered onto the pavement the car hit the brackes and I got pelted with rocks and eggs. I was soacked and sore.<br /><br />During the ride that morning the same car pulled up twice behind and next to us where the passenger would lean out and hit the cyclists on the backs with a sun-cover (you know the type you put in the front window). One guy fell of his bike cause he got hit so hard.<br /><br />We layed charges as we where able to get the registration number. The cops actually did something about it. Two days later they pitched up at the the owner's address. It belonged to a woman who lent the car to her son and his friends.<br /><br />We met the dad, son and his friends at FinishLine cycles that Friday. Its funny how sorry a motorist can be when he is not behind the wheel of a 1000kg car and you are not on a bike. Then apologies are always in order. <br /><br />The agreement was reached where we would cancel our charges we layed in turn for these youngsters registering with a charity organization to do community service for 3 months!!!! <br /><br />So something good actually happened from all this....<br /><br />ALL I CAN RECOMMMEND IS THAT ALL CYCLISTS WHO ARE INVOLVED IN THESE ROAD RAGE ALTERCATIONS TAKE THE NUMBER PLATE DETAILS AND LAY CHARGES. IF MORE OF US LAY CHARGES, THEN MORE WILL BE DONE AGAINST THESE MOTORISTS. THE WORD WOULD SPREAD THAT US CYCLISTS DON'T TAKE CRAP LYING DOWN ANYMORE!!!! THEY MIGHT JUST THINK TWICE THE NEXT TIME!!!!!!!