Video: Cyclists brawl midway through stage on the Volta a Portugal 2014

Vicente de Mateus and Enrico Rossi had to be separated after colliding towards the end of the sixth stage

Vicente de Mateus and Enrico Rossi fight during stage six of the Volta a Portugal (YouTube)

It’s not the first time two sportsmen have lost their tempers with an opponent, and it certainly won’t be the last, but the sight of cyclist Vicente de Mateus and Enrico Rossi brawling during the middle of the Volta a Portugal truly is a staggering one.

As if riding the 100-mile stage from Oliveira do Bairro to Viseu wasn’t hard enough, the pair decided to stop for a quick sparring session after they collided and both crashed to the ground in the closing kilometres of Tuesday’s stage.

After confronting each other, the two resorted to trading blows before other riders and spectators could separate them, all the while they were losing more and more time on the leaders.

Rossi explained his decision to start the fight, as he can be seen throwing the first punch – an effective right hook – before he takes one in retaliation.

Watch the video below:

“I was going over the line and then he ran into me, so we overturned,” Rossi explained.

“Then he stood and shouted at me so I hit him.”

We don’t advise you to solve such incidents by deciding to ‘hit them’.