Angry magpies steal limelight at UCI World Road Championships in Wollongong

When a thousand elite riders in the world’s largest road cycling championship came to Wollongong, one detail was overlooked.

The Australian magpie is fiercely protective during mating season and is known to swoop on people who are moving very quickly.

When a thousand elite riders in the world’s largest road cycling championship came to Australia, it seems that one detail was overlooked - the threat posed by angry birds.

“It was terrifying. But that’s Australia, apparently. I hope it’s the only time it happens, but I am afraid of it,” said the Belgian rider Remco Evenepoel, one of several competitors in the UCI World Road Championships to have been dive-bombed by Australian magpies over the weekend.

Native to Australia and southern New Guinea, the Australian magpie is known for its carolling song and intelligence - it is said it can remember up to 30 human faces. It is also a vicious protector during its peak September mating season. Adult males, which are much bigger than their European cousins, defend their nests by swooping on anything they consider a threat.

In Sydney, it is usual to see cyclists wear helmets equipped with spikes to deter the birds. Attacks on walkers are common. A year ago a five-month-old girl died when her mother fell while under a magpie’s attack.

The finish line of the UCI Road World Championships race in Wollongong is close to a sign that for years has warned cyclists to beware magpie attacks. Picture: Getty Images

Yet despite their meticulous planning in the coastal city of Wollongong, 60 miles south of Sydney, the organisers of the road championship under- estimated the birds, it seems.

The finish line of the race is close to a sign that for years has warned cyclists of a magpie attack hot spot.

“Birds swooping!” it reads. “Dismount and walk your bike through this area. Magpies are nesting in this area.”

Dismounting is hardly an option for the more than 1,000 cyclists from 70 nations competing in the week-long event; it is one of the top five sporting spectacles in the world, watched by more than 300 million viewers.

“A fairly large bird came very close, and it just kept following me,” said Evenepoel, 22, the son of Patrick Evenepoel, the champion cyclist who won the 1993 Grand Prix de Wallonie.

The Australian cyclist Grace Brown said she was no fan of magpies and their dive-bombing habits at this time of year, while a Swiss competitor, Stefan Kung, also reported an incident.

“Really? They’re talking about birds attacking. But yeah, one of our guys has been attacked already by a magpie,” Kung said.

While the peloton has so far been unflappable, magpie attacks on cyclists riding at speed during competition raise safety concerns.

In 2019, a cyclist suffered serious injuries and died after being swooped on while riding in northern Wollongong. Magpie Alert, the website that monitors magpie attacks in Australia, records more than 1,500 attacks so far this season, causing almost 200 injuries.

There was also a risk to the general public, said a Wollongong vet, Paul Partland, who warned of a “calamity”.

He said: “Swooping birds tend to target people that are by themselves and also people that are moving in very fast ways. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’re going to slow down the cyclists in their race to take a little side breather as the birds swoop by.”

The Times