‘Could have killed him’: Cyclist is smashed to floor by car crashing into him from behind in horrifying mid-race collision (VIDEO)

Fans were disgusted after professional racer Pieter Serry was hit from behind by the car of another team during a race in Italy – only for the Belgian to bravely return to his feet and carry on despite being smashed to the ground.

Furious viewers watched in shock as the car, which belonged to the BikeExchange team, went through Serry at speed ahead of the final climb of stage six of the Giro d'Italia while the driver was reportedly leaning out of the window.

Observers speculated that the incident could have happened as part of new rules that require jackets to be collected by teams from a separate car, although the vehicle concerned in the chilling crash is expected to be suspended from the showpiece amid uproar among well-wishers fearing for Serry's safety.

"The operator of the vehicle must be banned from participation in any [governing body] UCI event and have charges levied against him or her by Italian authorities, should an investigation confirm the obvious," said one, watching the unsuspecting Serry hurtle to the road before miraculously recovering to race on. "No f*cking excuse for such dereliction – period."

Others described the drama as "horrifying", with one warning: "Could have killed him."

Four-time British cycling champion Hannah Walker said the scene was "awful to see." "I don't know where the driver was looking but it was anywhere but the road," she told Eurosport.

"It looked like he went down very hard, straight on to his pelvis. At that point in the race, there are riders who have just done their job and are coming back. You've got to be so aware of what's going on."

Race finish line commentator and ex-pro Daniel Lloyd said: "Pieter Serry's been remarkably calm, in some ways. I know he was gesticulating to whoever was driving the team car, who must be feeling awful.

"It's inexcusable. The driver shouldn't be looking back when there are riders dropping back from the group, or at any other point.

"You've got to keep your eyes on the road: even though it's closed, there's a lot going on. It's a rain jacket – get it afterwards.

"You might not get it back but they've got hundreds on the bus, I'm sure. I just don't see any excuse for that at all."

Serry's team, Deceuninck-Quick Step, admitted they had been shaken. "Twelve kilometers remaining at the Giro and [he] is on the ground after being hit by another team’s car," the team announced to their hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers.

They later reported: "He is back on his bike but that gave us a huge scare. Hoping [he] is ok after that heart-in-the-mouth moment which happened on the last climb of this Giro stage."