There was a time, several decades ago, when the Tour de France was raced without helmets. This was not a very smart idea because it led to many closed head injuries to approximately 30% of the bikers. In this particular example, Pierre was leading the pack by only a few feet coming down the final stretch on the last day of the Tour when his front wheel suddenly his a peanut thrown out on the track by a small boy. He immediately lost control of the bicycle and flew forward onto his head, careening down the track. His head provided for such little friction that Pierre actually slid past the finish line, however, in second place.
