| http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Belgian-Cyclist-Wouter- May 09, 2011 [Wouter Weylandt: 1984-2011] Belgian cyclist Wouter Weylandt has died following a serious crash on the third stage of the Giro d'Italia cycle race. The 26-year-old came off his bike at high speed during a descent about 12m (20km) from the finish. Paramedics cut off his helmet and frantically attempted to resuscitate him as his body lay motionless by the roadside. Doctor Giovanni Trediciat said: "We arrived immediately as we were behind his group. He was unconscious with a fracture of the skull base and facial damage. "After 40 minutes of cardiac massage we had to suspend the resuscitation because there was nothing more we could do. "Weylandt was the victim of a fall and we are still trying to reconstruct the dynamics of what happened." An ambulance took the body away about an hour after the accident.The Belgian rider was racing with Leopard Trek. The team released a statement saying: "We lost a great teammate and a true friend today. "Our thoughts are with Wouter's family and friends." British cyclist Mark Cavendish responded to the news, saying: "Things like this shouldn't happen. Absolutely sick to the stomach. "My thoughts are with his family. RIP Wouter Weylandt." Last year, Weylandt won the third stage of the Giro on its final day in the Netherlands. He is the fourth rider to have been killed during the Giro d'Italia. The last death was 25 years ago. Orfeo Ponsin died in 1952, Juan Manuel Santisteban in 1976 and Emilio Ravasio in 1986. Weylandt's death was the first fatal crash in one of cycling's three main tours since Italian rider Fabio Casartelli was killed during the 1995 Tour de France. |
| cycling giro d'italia Cyclist Wouter Weylandt Belgium's Belgian Dies In Crash |
| Views: 419642 | 2011-05-09 |