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Video: Man versus Sheep - animal outpaces cyclist

It's no mountain goat - but creature has impressive turn of speed...

It's not unusual for some of the peloton's top climbers to be referred to as 'mountain goats,' but here's something we haven't seen before - a sheep outpacing a rider on an ascent, and from a standing start too.

The rider posted it to YouTube under user name PeowPeowPeowLasers, with the briefest of descriptions - "I had a race with a sheep and lost."

Given there hardly seemed to be a sheep in Yorkshire during the Tour de France Grand Depart weekend that hadn't been dyed yellow or green or been dappled with red polka dots,maybe our wooly friend was entitled to make a run for it as a bicycled came into sight?

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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41 comments

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Accessibility f... | 10 years ago
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I'm pretty sure that sheep was doping.

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BrokenBootneck | 10 years ago
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Would the sheep have still won if it hadn't gone "aero"?

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Matt eaton | 10 years ago
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I had a very similar experience to this with a badger. They look funny when they run.

Come to think of it I also had a similar experience with a deer when I was in the car. Who knew that there were all these animals out there just waiting for someone to race.

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Andy G | 10 years ago
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That's appalling behaviour, the farmer would have every right to be extremely annoyed and take action against the cyclist for stressing the animal like that. Would have been very easy for the sheep to suddenly turn and for the cyclist to crash into it or for the sheep to be driven into a car coming the other way. The cyclist should have slowed right down as soon as the sheep came into sight, you have absolutely no idea what that animal is going to do or where it is going to run. It would be very easy for the sheep to take the cyclist out and very easy for the cyclist to severely injure the animal and the farmer's income.

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Quince replied to Andy G | 10 years ago
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Andy G wrote:

That's appalling behaviour, the farmer would have every right to be extremely annoyed and take action against the cyclist for stressing the animal like that. Would have been very easy for the sheep to suddenly turn and for the cyclist to crash into it or for the sheep to be driven into a car coming the other way. The cyclist should have slowed right down as soon as the sheep came into sight, you have absolutely no idea what that animal is going to do or where it is going to run. It would be very easy for the sheep to take the cyclist out and very easy for the cyclist to severely injure the animal and the farmer's income.

The sheep loll around on the roads all the time at Wasdale Head (and pretty much everywhere else in the region), and have to contend with much bigger and faster things, much more frequently than the odd cyclist. Also, the cyclist keeps a reasonable distance.

Also also, I believe most of the money in keeping Herdwicks comes from a pot that Beatrix Potter left some time ago. She liked them. Their wool is apparently worthless, and I don't think they're used much for meat.

If you spend any time walking/driving/cycling around Wasdale, you get used to the Herdwicks as a pretty common feature of the fells. They're more-or-less left to their own devices (which is why they're rambling around on a public road in the video, and not in a field), and they're generally very inquisitive and friendly.

I think it's worth viewing with that in mind. The Herdwicks are the residents of the fells, rather than a constantly monitored cash source for a given farmer. Given that the cyclist wasn't in dangerously close proximity at any point in the video, I think it's safe to view it as lightheartedly as it first appears.

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bikebot | 10 years ago
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Dear Sir

I must protest at your failure to include a "ewe-tube" pun in the title of this story. Please consider those of us that appreciate such groan worthy humour in the future.

Kind regards.

P.S. None the less, a great change to see a nice video. Still needs more cake.

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Quince | 10 years ago
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I was in that exact spot last week, though sadly bikeless. If only I'd known there were such worthy/woolly adversaries, I may have come better prepared. The local Herdwicks certainly have their charm.

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earth | 10 years ago
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If this sheep lives in Yorkshire it will be well trained in running from Yorkshire men.
 21

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Him Up North | 10 years ago
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That's a Cumbrian sheep so has nothing to fear from Grand Depart Disease (the video is shot around Wast Water according to the comments).

And I don't think the sheep was being actively pursued. It just took off and showed the cyclist a clean pair of heels. I mean hooves.

Great music btw!

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Airzound | 10 years ago
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I bet the sheep only wears Rapha  16 .

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Beaufort | 10 years ago
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Beautiful road, pretty dumb to chase the sheep.

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