Belgian cycling is mourning the death of one of its promising young riders today after Niels De Vriendt suffered an apparent heart attack while racing.
The 20-year-old amateur cyclist was riding Wortegem-Petegem in Belgium, which was being held to re-start the season, for his VDM-Trawobo CT team.
A number of pro riders, including Sep Vanmarcke (EF Pro Cycling), were also taking part in the event that marked the resumption of the season in Belgium.
Just 13km into the event De
Vriendt required medical treatment after a crash and fell unresponsive. Paramedics
rushed to his aid and efforts were made to resuscitate him.
De Vriendt was then taken by
ambulance to hospital in Oudenaarde but it emerged in the afternoon that he had
died there.
The event had been organised
by the family of Belgian national road race champion Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix).
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It was effectively a practice race that pros and amateurs were free to ride so they could prepare to get back into racing proper after the break in competition due to Covid19.
When the seriousness of the
situation became clear the race was stopped and then cancelled.
"He was a boy in the prime of his life. He was about to be 21 years old," local Mayor Luc Vander Meeren told Sporza.
"We were hoping he would make it due to his young age, but unfortunately it couldn’t have been.
"The riders rode with a headwind on a slight slope. So they did not ride fast. Niels suddenly road off the road.”
He added it was clear if De Vriendt had gone off road “because of the cardiac arrest” or if his cardiac issue resulted from the crash. De Vriendt's team also said it had been told he suffered cardiac arrest.
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