After a late stage crash today, Giant-Shimano's Marcel Kittel succumbed to road rage and threw his bike – probably £7,000/US$11,000 worth of kit – into the tarmac in Tirreno-Adriatico.
We winced when we saw those lovely Shimano wheels and that svelt Propel Advanced SL take a pounding in Cascina. Watch the carnage here:
Marcel kittel slams bike into tar
Kittel, 25, later tweeted his apologies: "I'm VERY sorry for throwing my beloved Giant Propel on the ground. I still love it! We're just having an intense relationship. #deepemotions." Ah, sweet.
You can take a closer look at the Giant Propel Advanced Pro SL itself here:
Marcel kittel's propel advanced sl
Kittel is the latest in an illustrious line of riders to vent frustration on their bike when things go wrong.
At the Tour of Dubai this year Peter Sagan (Cannondale) had a hissy and chucked his rather bendy looking Cannondale Evo down but it wasn't as spontaneous as David Millar's (Garmin-Sharp) effort when he threw his bike over the hoarding after the chain snapped in 2008.
Dave millar's best bike throw
By far the most elegant however was Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) last year at the Giro del Trentino. A gear malfunction on the climb to Sega di Ala prompted him to flick his bike away and it landed with poise and grace against the mountain wall. Epic.
Bradley wiggins' elegant flick
And of course there is this oldie but goodie, the Bjarne Riis bike toss of his time-trial bike at the end of the 1997 Tour de France.
Bjarne riis time-trial bike toss