Simpson, Casartelli, Goolaerts: Cycling has claimed many victims

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There are always serious falls in cycling. The drivers are seriously injured, unlike other drivers, they hardly wear any protective clothing. Tragic deaths from falls do occur from time to time, although thankfully they have become less frequent in recent times. The most recent example: During the 5th stage of the current Tour de Suisse, Gino Mäder († 26) crashed heavily and died the next day from his injuries. It is the second death this decade. Blick lists the most tragic and far-reaching fall deaths.

He was the first fatality in the Tour de France. During the descent of the Col du Galibier during the seventh stage, he crashed hard and fractured the base of his skull. Cepeda was only accidentally discovered in a ditch by a race commissioner. He died three days later at the age of 29 in a hospital in Grenoble. The course of the accident is still unclear to this day.

For years he was the only fatal victim in the Tour de Suisse. The 33-year-old fell into a dimly lit tunnel at Wassen UR, was run over by an escort vehicle and died on the spot. The tunnel was subsequently named after him.

Ponsin crashed heavily on a descent during stage four and crashed into a tree. He died at the age of 23 as a result of the fall. Ponsin was the first fatality in the Giro.

He became world champion in 1965 and was the first Briton to wear the maillot jaune in the Tour de France. On Mont Ventoux, Simpson collapsed during the 13th stage of the ascent, got back on his bike before collapsing again due to cardiac arrest – brought on by the heat and his drug abuse – and died by the side of the track. At this point there is a memorial stone where cyclists from all over the world put something down.

The Dane took part in the team time trial, 20 kilometers before the finish he fell off his bike due to heat stroke and suffered a skull fracture. The 23-year-old died in hospital the next day. The heat stroke was caused by dehydration, which the autopsy could trace back to doping. After this tragedy, the IOC introduced doping tests in 1967.

The Spaniard fell during the first stage. He drove out of a corner at high speed, fell and hit his head on the guardrail. Santisteban died of head injuries at the age of 31.

Ravasio also crashed during the first stage in Sicily and hit his head on the pavement. After the fall, he got back on his bike and rode to the finish. A few hours later, the 23-year-old went into cardiac arrest, was hospitalized in a coma and eventually died 16 days after his fall.

The Italian is currently the last dead in the Tour de France. He’s also one of the worst. On stage 15, while descending the Col de Portet-d’Aspet, the 1992 Olympic champion crashed en masse. Without a bicycle helmet, he hit his head on a concrete curb. The 24-year-old was resuscitated at the scene of the accident, but died three hours later in hospital from severe head injuries.

The Kazakh started the race without a helmet. He fell during the race and later succumbed to his severe head injury. Because of this tragedy, the UCI decided to make helmets mandatory for all races.

His death was the last on a major tour. The Belgian hit a wall on the descent of Passo del Bocco, on stage three, and fell. Across the street, he collided with another object and lay motionless. Although rescuers began CPR efforts 30 seconds later, the 26-year-old died at the scene of the accident. According to the autopsy, the skull fracture was the cause of the tragic death. Four months later his daughter was born.

During the cycling classic, the Belgian fell and fell into the ditch. The rescuers were able to resuscitate him and he was flown to hospital by helicopter. A cardiac arrest was diagnosed there, as a result of which he died that same evening at the age of 23. The autopsy showed that his heart stopped before the fall and that is why he fell off his bicycle. (nsa)

Source : Blick