VIDEO | Motorbike error takes Vollering, Ferrand-Prévot and Kopecky out of Strade Bianche Donne battle

Professional cycling is a sport that is raced on public roads and this can lead to chaotic situations. It is incredibly rare for something as dramatic to happen as was the case today at Strade Bianche Donne as many of the race's top favourites have been taken out of contention due to... Following a motorbike that rode off course in the gravel roads.

It is an error from the organizer's bike which drove off-course into a gravel road in the region, however one that was not part of the Strade Bianche course. A TV motorbike was following the group and managed to display the incident perfectly, leading to there being no doubts on what happened.

The race had been split at the time, and with 32 kilometers to go it was well under way. A front group including several of the race's favourites was being chased by a group that included the likes of Demi Vollering, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Lotte Kopecky, Kim Le Court and Anna van der Breggen. Several of these riders had been victim of punctures or mechanicals already, and were battling to try and return to the front group. There was serious firepower in this group, which could well return to the front and significantly change the outcome of the race.

But in this instance, they were misled and taken out of the race route. The gap, which stood at less than 1 minute at the time of the incident, extended that by several times, and completely turned to nothing an ambitious chase.

It is an incident that is certain to lead to harsh commentary from both analysts, sports directors and the riders themselves, as it has happened in a race at the very top of the sport and with live TV broadcast. The degree of the riders that were heavily affected is perhaps unprecedented in any recent similar incident. You can follow each update to the women's and also men's race in our LiveBlog.