Falls are part of a sport as exposed and dangerous as cycling. Fortunately, most of them stick to ‘sheet metal and paint’, but there are times when they end up losing the cyclist involved in the accident. This is what happened on May 9, 2011 in the third episode of Italy is spinningwhich connects the towns of Reggio Emilia and Rapallo. A day of what can be considered a transition, in which the development does not have to have major shocks and that only showed the passage through the harbor Passo del Bocco (3rd category), located 25 kilometers from the finish line. On the descent there was the fatal fall of the Belgian runner Wouter Weylandt.
He Leopard-Trek team rider, who finished ninth in the previous stage, had problems with one of his pedals and even lost control of his bike. This sent him flying, crashing into a wall and violently hitting his head on the asphalt fracturing the base of his skull, although it was also noted that when he looked back he was confused as to who was coming and when he wanted to. to realize that the wall is ahead of him. A situation that, as the cyclist regretted before Pablo Lastras “It was seen coming, in the morning I discussed it with some journalists. There are a lot of curves and any element of security is conspicuous by its absence.”
Giro medical services treated him on the tarmac and transferred him to Hospital of Genoabut they could not save his life. Giovanni Tredici, Giro’s doctor, explained that “when I arrived he was dead. The blow caused his immediate death, he was bleeding profusely, with loss of brain mass. The situation is very serious, with no possibility of resuscitation. It was less than two minutes before the ambulance arrived.
Four days later, the Giro decided to retire forever the number 108 he wore Weylandt when he suffered his tragic death, so the number 108 was no longer used by anyone in Pink Corsa. Weylandt is in his eighth professional season, after making his debut in 2004 at Quickstep-Davitamon. He came to play two editions of the Giro d’Italia and three of La Vuelta, several classics and achieved 12 victories, one of them in the 17th stage of La Vuelta in 2008, in the streets of Valladolid.
Weylandt became the fourth cyclist to lose his life at the Giro. The Italian passed away first Orfeo Ponsín in 1952 at the descent of Merluzza, the Spanish Juan Manuel Santisteban after falling in the fourth stage of Catania in 1976 and in 1988 Lombard Emilio Ravasio in Sicily.
FOUR CYCLISTS DIE IN GIRO
Wouter Weylandt became the fourth cyclist to lose his life in the history of the Giro d’Italia. Previously, the Italian Orfeo Ponsin died in the Corsa Rosa in 1952 on the descent of Merluzza, the Spaniard Juan Manuel Santisteban after crashing in the fourth stage of Catania in 1976 and in 1988 the Lombard cyclist Emilio Ravasio after falling in Sicily
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
