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.
Share