Six professional cyclists have been seriously injured when a pedestrian crossed the road just in front of them, causing a massive pile-up with less than two kilometres from the finish line.

The unbelievable scenes look like something straight out of an unwise Mr Bean reimagining, but sadly they are all too real. It unfolded last Sunday during the 15th annual Tour De Qinghai Lake Cycling Race which started in Xining city, the capital of China’s Qinghai Province. It’s one of the largest and best known road races anywhere in Asia.

As the peloton raced towards the finish line, a pedestrian failed to see the 50+ brightly colour road bikes coming his way, and proceeded to wander across a zebra crossing, just meters away from the front of the pack.

Despite the best efforts of the front runners to avoid him, the collision proved inevitable. The crash left six cyclists seriously injured, with one having to retire from the tour completely.

The pedestrian was also covered in blood and heavily bruised, and was later led away by local police officers. However, some reports in the UK media suggest that the man may escape punishment as he’s believed to supper from a condition that limits his mental and cognitive ability.