Cyclist's Devastating Crash Caught on Camera (and the Baffling Reason for It)

A Chilean cyclist was immediately transported to the hospital after a horrific, and seemingly unnecessary, crash at the 2014 Odesur Games. It seems a starting gate was not removed from the track in Santiago, and Irene Aravena plowed right into it.

Not only did Aravena's bike break in half upon impact, she can be seen doing a complete front flip over her handlebars before making a painful-looking fall that either fractured or broke her leg, according to various reports.

Here are a few screen shots of the crash, via ninemsn:

(Photo: Screen Shot/ninemsn)

(Photo: Screen shot/ninemsn)

(Photo: Screen shot/ninemsn)

(Photo: Screen shot/ninemsn)

Aravena is said to have successfully undergone surgery, though the extent of her injuries is still unconfirmed.

Deadspin has more on why the gate was not removed:

The starting horn sounded and both teams of cyclists exploded out of their respective starting gates, only for the officials to call a false start. That's when disaster happened.

Both teams took off around the track, but three of the four competitors heard the false start. Chilean cyclist Irene Aravena, however, didn't, and kept her position on the inside lane. A gang of race officials at the bottom of the track had one job: pull the starting gate off of the track after cyclists take off.

But since it was a false start, Deadspin adds, it seems the race officials decided to wave a red flag instead of actually removing the gate. Aravena clearly didn't notice, or didn't have time to adjust her path.

Watch full video of the crash, below:

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