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WINTER PARK, Colo. (KDVR) — An unexpected opponent took the lead in a bike race in Winter Park on Saturday.

A moose galloped into the Crooked Gravel bike race, and while riders stacked up hoping it would trot into the woods, it kept running down the path in front of them for more than six minutes before veering off.

Kris Thompson says he’s never seen anything like it in more than 30 years of cycling in the area.

“In my 30 years of cycling, I’ve never seen anything like this,” he says. “That’s why I turned on the video, this is once in a lifetime.”

Colorado Parks and Wildlife says Thompson did the right thing, giving the moose plenty of space, and not trying to pass it. 

Video shows a few cyclists passing the moose as it ran down the trail. 

“It could have thought it was a predator chasing them, and it’s not going to veer off the trail without being able to slow down,” says Jason Clay. “It’s putting that moose’s life in danger from multiple aspects, from the exhaustion standpoint, and the danger standpoint.”

Nearly seven minutes after he started recording, the moose veered off the trail to the right, likely exhausted according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

“I’ve never experienced a moose or seen a moose, but I know they can be a dangerous animal, so when I saw racers passing I was like, this is going to be interesting, but racing was the least of my mind at that point,” says Thompson.