Nathalie Birli was tied up with duct tape, plied with alcohol and put in a bath of cold water during her ordeal.

Nathalie Birli: Triathlete survives kidnapping and convinces man to free her

Nathalie Birli was tied up with duct tape, plied with alcohol and put in a bath of cold water during her ordeal.

Image: Nathalie Birli told newspaper Krone her attacker tried to suffocate her. Pic: nathi_birli

An Austrian triathlete has survived after a kidnapper knocked her off her bike with his car, breaking her hand, and tried to suffocate her.
Nathalie Birli, 27, was hit by a car in the Kumberg area of southern Austria whilst on her way to training on Tuesday, Graz police spokesman Fritz Grundnig said.

The man then tied her up with duct tape, put her into the vehicle and took her to a house where he held her for hours, police said.
"I was hit, beaten up, tied up and taken to a little house off the street - like a bad movie," she said in a Facebook post after her escape.
"Thank goodness I was able to free myself and am well except for a broken hand and a head injury well."

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Ms Birli told Krone, a local newspaper, that the attacker had blindfolded her, made her drink alcohol, tried to suffocate her and forced her into a bathtub with cold water.

However, she said she eventually managed to gain his trust and convinced him to take her back home.

She was treated for her injuries at the University Hospital in nearby Graz.

A 33-year-old man has been arrested.

Image: Nathalie Birli said she managed to gain her abductor's trust Pic: nathi_birli

According to Krone, the suspect kept her there for six hours, and denied trying to kill her.
The suspect told police he had been distracted when he knocked her over with his red van and then panicked, tied the woman up took her home in the backseat of his car.