Two cyclists die during the Tour des Flanders Amateur – Liberation
Two cyclists lost their lives this Saturday, April 5 after discomfort when they participated in the Tour des Flanders Amateur on the eve of the profession reserved for professionals, the organizers of We Ride Flanders announced.
A Dutch runner died after feeling badly on the Taaienberg, a steep coast located at the start of the course. « Despite rapid assistance and resuscitation efforts, the person died of heart failure », said Gert Goolen, spokesperson for the event in a press release.
The other victim, of French nationality, had to be resuscitated after a discomfort on the Old Quaremont in Kluisbergen, one of the major difficulties of the route. The man was evacuated by helicopter but died in the hospital.
A third participant had to be transported to the emergency room after an incident on EIKENBERG, whose circumstances are not yet clear. The race was diverted during these incidents.
Organized the day before the Tour des Flandres, the amateur version of the Ronde attracted some 15,000 cyclists on Saturday for a race connecting Bruges to Audenarde (north of Belgium) over 229 km. About 10,000 foreigners, mainly from the Netherlands, France, England and Germany, started the event, according to the Belga news agency.
