On Saturday, at the famous Café des Deux Moulins in central Paris, Nils Pollitt had a closer encounter than realistically expected with one of the peloton of the Olympic men's road race when he took an emergency bathroom break midway through the race.

The German athlete later told reporters that Pollitt, who had been suffering from stomach problems, jumped into a cafe in the final kilometers of the race won by Belgian Remco Evenpole.

The cafe became a tourist attraction after it appeared in several scenes in the 2001 cult film Amelie.

But Pollitt had more priorities than sightseeing in mind when he quickly entered the café at the bottom of the uphill Butte Montmartre on Rue Lepic in Paris on a Saturday afternoon, weaving through a crowd of customers in search of a restroom.

The urgent mission was successfully accomplished, and Pollitt then left the café, cheered on by the customers and the large crowd, jumped over the barriers, got back on his bike, and continued his race. He completed the course, finishing nearly 20 minutes behind Evenpoel.

"I didn't count how long it took," he said.

"It was really warm, I drank a lot of water, ate a lot of gels, and usually I don't have problems. But today my stomach wasn't feeling good."

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