"A swift glance showed me the three bike-lengths I still had in front of me, and I put my head down, eyes on the wheel, for a better aero effect.

So it was in extreme close-up that I saw my wheel tilt, the tire shoot off the rim and squash into the road. Then I saw it twist up and jam behind the fork crown, producing the most brutal deceleration I've ever experienced. I didn't take my eyes off the knot it made at that precise location, and to this day I could still sketch it. I can see it from every angle, since I somersaulted over the handlebars and crashed flat on my back, with the bike, and that damn twenty-fourth sew-up, landing on top of me."

-Paul Fournel