GRAPHIC: Spanish cyclist left staring at his bloody shin bone after disc brake accident

Good god.

Cycling is a very tough way to make a living. With your body on the line, the mental anguish is almost as insufferable as the physical pain hundreds of iron men put themselves through week after week across Europe. And you may need an iron constitution to try and force yourself to see the before and after pictures of Fran Ventosio's disfigured leg after a cycling accident at the weekend. The Spanish cyclist was competing in the Paris-Roubaix when he came off his bike and was sliced open by the disc brake of the bike in front of him. He had to abandon his attempt to win the race after the accident on Sunday evening, and no wonder. His lower leg was cut open like an onion by the sharp metal, and he took to Facebook to share the pictures of the before and after of his now scarred leg. On his Facebook page he also described exactly the circumstances around his injury, and with graphic medical language, the damage done to his leg.

"I’ve got to break [brake] but I can’t avoid crashing against the rider in front of me, who was also trying not to hit the ones ahead. I didn’t actually fall down: it was only my leg touching the back of his bike. I keep riding. But shortly afterwards, I have a glance at that leg: it doesn’t hurt, there’s not a lot of blood covering it, but I can clearly see part of the periosteum, the membrane or surface that covers my tibia. I get off my bike, throw myself against the right-hand side of the road over the grass, cover my face with my hands in shock and disbelief, start to feel sick… I could only wait for my team car and the ambulance, while a lot of things come through my mind."

The rider also warned that the technology could lead to a more serious injury, or even a fatality.

"Was there really anyone who thought things like Sunday’s wouldn’t happen? Really nobody thought they were dangerous? Nobody realized they can cut, they can become giant knives? "I’ve been lucky: I didn’t get my leg chopped off, it’s just some muscle and skin. But can you imagine that disk cutting a jugular or a femoral artery? I would prefer not to."

Ouch.