"Where the bicycle connects to the sky" - Belgian U23 team finds comfort in their mourning for Tijl De Decker atop Col de la Loze

Belgian U23 coach Serge Pauwels shared an emotional photo of two of his riders on Instagram after the sixth stage of the Tour de l'Avenir. The photo shows how Alec Segeaert and Vlad Van Mechelen stare into the distance on top of the Col de la Loze after the loss of their young compatriot Tijl De Decker.

"Where the bicycle connects to the sky," Pauwels captioned the photo.

"When they arrived, they immediately went there. They clearly needed to find some comfort in the view on top of that mountain. They sat there with tears in their eyes. That was a telling image," Pauwels told Sporza about the photo. Just before the start of the stage, the Belgian U23s heard about the death of their compatriot. "The whole team was very upset when we heard it."

Many riders who are active in the Tour de l'Avenir had a good relationship with De Decker. "Alec Segaert was his teammate, they had stayed together the week before Paris-Roubaix. Lars Craps had also spent three weeks in Tenerife with Tijl in December. And William Lecerf was in the same team as Tijl in the juniors," said the former rider.

Despite the death of De Decker, all Belgian riders decided to continue the race. "Of course we gave them the choice to start or not, but they themselves indicated fairly quickly that they wanted to continue. I understand that too. Unlike lying alone in your room, you can still take your mind off the bike."

Following De Decker's accident, the riders also discussed their own safety. "Then you hear the same things coming up with every rider: every training you have 10 just-not-moments. Every training you almost qualify for a collision. And (almost) every workout you let out a sigh. Then you realize how fragile you are as a rider. It is unfortunately one of the downsides of the sport. You are always in danger not only during the race, but also during training," Pauwels concluded.