Pro cyclists who tragically died on their bikes

Professional cycling is a beautiful but very hard sport, with sometimes fatal consequences. These riders lost their lives on their bikes.

One of the most famous names in cycling to die on the bike was Fabio Casartelli. The Italian became Olympic champion in Barcelona in 1992 and wrote his name with golden letters in cycling history.

Casartelli crashed badly in the 1995 Tour de France during the descent of the Col de Portet d'Aspet. He struck his head against a concrete block and succumbed to his injuries in hospital. The Italian was just 24.

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In 2011, cycling-mad Belgium lost one of its heroes. Wouter Weylandt died in the Giro that year at the age of 26 after an unlucky crash on the descent of the Passo del Bocco.

The Ghent-born star was taken to hospital by helicopter, but no further help could be provided. Weylandt died almost exactly one year after winning the stage in the 2010 Giro with a finish in Middelburg.

Gino Mäder too died after crashing with his bike. The Swiss rider lost control while descending the Albula Pass in the 2023 Tour de Suisse.

A helicopter took Mäder to the hospital in Chur, where he died a day later. Mäder was just 26 and his untimely death sent shockwaves through the peloton world.

Bjorg Lambrecht was a promising rider who represented Lotto Soudal in 2019. With a superb sixth place in that year's Amstel Gold Race, he had already shown his great talent.

However, fate struck that same year during the Tour of Pologne for the then 22-year-old Lambrecht, who crashed and hit a concrete culvert. He was resuscitated after suffering a cardiac arrest, but died the same evening in Rybnik hospital.

Another rider who lost his life while racing is Michael Goolaerts, and more specifically during Paris-Roubaix of 2018.

Goolaerts made his debut in the Hell of the North at the age of 23, but suffered a cardiac arrest during the second cobbled section. After resuscitation, he died in hospital in Lille.

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Antoine Demoitié was 25 when he crashed in the 2016 Gent-Wevelgem and was hit by a motorbike.

His injuries proved fatal to him that night. It is not clear, however, whether Demoitié died from his crash or from the collision.

Isaac Gálvez was a big name in track cycling when he crashed badly in the madison of the Six Days of Flanders-Ghent in 2006.

The Spaniard collided with fellow rider Dimitri De Fauw and then hit a railing with his chest. He was resuscitated, but later died of internal bleeding. De Fauw was badly affected after Gálvez's death, and took his own life in 2009.

For Andrei Kivilev, the 2nd stage of 2003 Paris-Nice was his last race.

The Kazakh suffered a skull fracture and two broken ribs in a crash, before falling into a coma and succumbing to his injuries the next morning. Kivilev was 29.

Jean-Pierre 'Jempi' Monseré brought supreme cycling joy to Belgium in 1970 by becoming world champion, but would die soon after.

Photo credit: screenshot, Jean-Pierre Monseré, Instagram, @nieuwsbladsport

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Monseré was taking part in the Grote Jaarmarktprijs in Retie on 15 March 1971 and hit a car at full speed. He died on the spot at the age of 22.

Photo credit: screenshot, Jean-Pierre Monseré, Instagram, @kidpagorn05