Mountain biker gets in tangle with a deer during a race

A mountain biker taking part in a race in Virginia had his challenge derailed by an unusual trespasser on the course: a baby deer who jumped straight into his path.

Jeff Plassman was taking part in the Monster Cross and Mountain Bike event in Pocahontas State Park near the town of Chesterfield, a gruelling 47-mile race through forests and up and down mountains.

But the biker's challenge was derailed when a Bambi-lookalike launched itself across the track while at full tilt - presumably running through the forests away from the noise of hundreds of men grunting, puffing and pedalling for 'deer' life. (Ho ho.)

Thankfully, the young deer apparently suffered no ill effects whatsoever, gambolling off into the woods to go and nibble at grass and pose for picnickers' photos.

Jeff, too, was similarly unharmed after his run-in with the creature, getting back on his bike to finish the course in three hours 35 minutes and 26 seconds, putting him 212th of the 382 finishers.

After getting home safely, he then kindly decided to share his helmet-cam footage with the world.

It reminded us of an amazing clip (below) from a couple of years ago when a bike rider copped the full forces of a red Hartebees while on a ride in South Africa.