An Irish club cyclist, who was also one of the country's leading heart surgeons, has died while on a cycling holiday in France. Simon MacGowan - a member of Bray Wheelers and former North Down CC rider - died while riding across France, on a multi day trip towards Nice, as part of a group.
He had just ridden a six-day tour of the Alps, from Geneva to Nice, with some club mates when he died in his sleep in Nice on completion of the trip.
Bray Wheelers said it was "consumed with sadness to learn of the tragic loss of our club member and friend". "We are thinking of Simon's family during this difficult time and share our heart-felt condolences," the club added in a statement.
Brian Harris, Bray Wheelers spokesman, also told The Wicklow People Dr MacGowan was "a hugely popular man in the Irish cycling community and we pass on our sincere condolences to all his family and friends".
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He was a top cardiothoracic surgeon working at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, and split his time between Bray and the North.
Dr MacGowan graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland 40 years ago and became consultant cardiac surgeon at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast in the 1990s.
He was also fellow of the European Board of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons and the American College of Surgeons.
News of his death in France at the weekend comes just days after it emerged another club cyclist and triathlete, Sarah Fagan, died in hospital in Grenoble on Saturday, a day after getting into difficulty while on the swimming leg of a triathlon she was competing in.
From Dundalk, Co Louth, she was a member of Cuchulainn Cycling Club and Setanta Triathlon Club.
