UPDATE: One of the riders who passed away at Tour of Flanders amateur event was former Cofidis pro
Cycling
Two participants died this afternoon in the Tour of Flanders for amateurs. They started today with 15,000 participants. A Dutch cyclist died on the Taaienberg in Maarkedal. The second fatality occurred on the Kwaremont in Kluisbergen. This was a participant from France. Despite resuscitation attempts, the emergency services were unable to save his life.
The "Tour of Flanders for Everyone" started on Saturday morning with thousands of cyclists on the market square in Oudenaarde. However, what began in the morning full of joy took a tragic turn in the afternoon.
Two participants lost their lives during the event. A Dutchman died on the Taaienberg. "A participant fainted on the Taaienberg in Maarkedal," explained Gert Van Goolen, spokesperson for "We Ride Flanders". "Despite quick help and resuscitation attempts, the person died of heart failure."
A second cyclist from France was also resuscitated after a medical emergency at the Oude Kwaremont in Kluisbergen, but also died.
A woman collapsed on the Eikenberg at around midday. She was conscious and was taken to hospital. There was another incident in the Kortrijkstraat in Wortegem-Petegem: a cyclist fell and was taken to hospital with a broken collarbone. On the Koppenberg in Oudenaarde, a second cyclist fell and probably suffered a broken ankle.
UPDATE
One of the cyclists who died in the Tour of Flanders amateur race is former French professional cyclist Stéphane Krafft (45). This is reported by RMC. Krafft was previously a teammate of Belgian Nico Mattan and the late Frank Vandenbroucke.
On X, his former team Cofidis – where Krafft was a teammate of Nico Mattan and Frank Vandenbroucke – confirmed his death without providing further details about the circumstances.
Krafft did not have a long professional career – he ended his career in 2001, at the age of just 21. Two years earlier, he finished second in the U23 Paris–Roubaix. Tom Boonen finished sixth at the time.
I don’t know how generalised it is but in every race in every country I’ve participated in you either need to show a club licence (which you only get by having a medical around every 2-3 years) or by having a doctors’ aptitude certificate. Can’t ask for much more. Don’t forget, 15000 people (of which quite some are well into the latter part of life), that’s a small town where people will have medical issues every day even without cycling hard. In one country I lived in you even have to do a full ECG and power test regularly to ride competitively after 50.
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