James Cracknell feared his ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ dreams had "come to an end" when he was involved in a bike crash yesterday (14.08.19).
The former Olympian was cycling in London when he "had an altercation with a minicab driver" which left him with a "bust finger", "some road rash" and a "damaged ego", but the 47-year-old rowing champion insisted he is OK.
He said: "My ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ dreams nearly came to an end when I had an altercation with a minicab driver in London.
"It was nobody’s fault really. Bit of a bust finger, some road rash on my back, but OK.
"The good thing was there was no street furniture around for me to fall into. I was also wearing a helmet and I wasn’t listening to music so I could concentrate and was focused on what was ahead."
James joked he has more chance of winning gruelling cycling competition the Tour de France than he does ‘Strictly’, but he used the aftermath of the incident to encourage other cyclists and motorbike riders to "focus" on the roads rather than listen to music.
Speaking in a video posted on his Twitter account, he added: "That’s the important thing to remember with cycling, or riding a motorbike or driving around town.
"It’s OK if you’re concentrating on what you’re doing and you’re absolutely focused. I’ve had my focus on riding a bike, and in fact doing anything else but learning how to dance.
"To be honest, I have more of a chance of winning the Tour [de France] than winning ‘Strictly Come Dancing’, but in for a penny."
James also captioned the video: "Slight wobble – literally – in my @bbcstrictly preparations. Luckily only a bit of road rash and damaged ego – but I need to get ready for the latter. #daddancing #sharetheroad (sic)"
The star became the 14th contestant to join the BBC Latin and ballroom series this year, and revealed he hadn’t even told his mum the news.
He said: "I haven’t told my mum yet, we got told not to tell anyone.
"She’ll be going, ‘No, what’s he doing.’
"It’s going to be really interesting having no confidence in it and going, ‘OK, can you do it?’ "
James Cracknell feared Strictly dreams had ‘come to an end’
