Two professional Belgian road cyclists have tragically died in as many days, with Wanty-Gobert rider Antoine Demoitie and Roubaix-Lille Metropole’s Daan Myngheer both passing away after unrelated incidents in races in northern France and Corsica.
Antoine Demoitie died in hospital after being hit by a motorcycle while competing in the Gent-Wevelgem race on Sunday. The 25-year-old was involved in a collision that took several riders down as the race passed through Sainte-Marie-Cappel in the north of France.
Wanty-Gobert have described the incident as an “unfortunate, horrible accident”, with spokesperson José Been refusing to blame the motorcyclist, and telling the BBC: “The cyclists fell right in front of the motorcyclist who had no time to react and just hit them.
“The motorcyclist is very experienced and has been in the races a long time. He is as grief-stricken as we are. It was a very unfortunate, horrible accident for both sides.”
Antoine was taken to the University Hospital of Lille where he later passed away. An inquiry is under way to determine the circumstances.
