Dan Martin said one of his earliest memories of the Tour de France was a very sad one indeed on what was a black day for the race; indeed for the sport. But on his Tour de France recon he finally got the chance to stop and remember Fabio Casartelli at the monument in his memory.
He may have been only 8-years-old at the time, but Dan Martin said he remembers the death on the Tour de France of Fabio Casartelli.
The Italian had won the Olympic road race gold in Barcelona in 1992, aged just 21 years. He then went on to turn pro.
But in his third season, and riding for Motorola, he crashed on stage 15 of the Tour de France; some 207km from Saint Girons to Cauterets.
Coming off the Col de Portet d'Aspet he crashed hard. The head injuries he suffered proved to be fatal.
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A memorial has since been built at the spot where he fell, with many cyclists stopping to reflect there down the years.
Dan Martin is currently in France checking out some of the Tour de France route.
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And he said after racing passed the monument several times, he finally passed it training yesterday.
He Tweeted a photo of himself at the memorial with a message to remember the young Italian.
“One of my earliest Tour de France memories is sadly seeing Fabio Casartelli lying motionless on the descent of Col de Portet d'Aspet,” he said.
“After racing past the memorial numerous times, I finally took the opportunity to stop and pay my respects. RIP Fabio.”
It was nice touch by Dan Martin and it’s great to see Fabio Casartelli is still remembered two decades later; and by the pros who were only children at the time.
1 of my earliest Tour de France memories is sadly seeing Fabio Casartelli lying motionless on the descent of Col de Portet d'Aspet. After racing past the memorial numerous times, I finally took the opportunity to stop and pay my respects. RIP Fabio. #tdf2018 #recon pic.twitter.com/sxH2qqbFK4
— Dan Martin (@DanMartin86) May 9, 2018
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