Cycling: A 133-kilometer ride couldn't be sadder. The fourth stage of the Tour of Poland was neutralized and shortened in honor of Bjorg Lambrecht, who passed away yesterday. The drivers of the affected team Lotto - Soudal crossed the finish line in Kocierz together in front of the peloton.
Cycling mourns the loss of Bjorg Lambrecht
In difficult situations, a family should stick together. The cycling family impressively demonstrated this today. After the death of Bjorg Lambrecht, all teams agreed to neutralize the fourth stage of the Tour of Poland and to drive completely without a rating. At the same time, the final laps in Kocierz were canceled, so the section was shortened to 133,0 kilometers. Because nobody felt like cycling today. After the start in Jaworzno at 12:10 p.m., the pros, wearing black ribbons, rolled towards the finish line at an average speed of around 35 km/h. The six drivers from Lotto - Soudal lined up ahead of the rest of the peloton. During a minute's silence, all professionals took off their helmets and the Belgian team - with sport directors and staff - mourned the loss of their deceased teammate and friend. Then all the teams took turns at the top of the peloton to pay their last respects to Bjorg Lambrecht.
He drove into a ditch
A day after Bjorg Lambrecht's terrible accident, further details about the accident became known. It is said that there were several falls in the pouring rain. The Belgian then avoided drivers lying in front of him and then drove into a ditch. There he fell and hit his chest and stomach against a concrete pipe. The casualty was then resuscitated on the spot. On the podium in Zabrze, race director Czeslaw Lang then confirmed the death of Bjorg Lambrecht. All celebrations have of course been cancelled.
race doctor Ryszard Wisniewski:
“We tried to give him a heart massage right after the fall. Then we called a rescue helicopter. But his condition was so serious that he could not be transported. So we carried out resuscitation at the scene of the accident. He was then taken to the hospital in an ambulance – in which we carried out further resuscitation.”
Bjorg Lambrecht was considered a great talent
First and foremost, friends and family lost an important and significant part of their lives in the person of Bjorg Lambrecht. At the same time, cycling is mourning the loss of one of its greatest talents. The Belgian was only 22 years old. He only started his second WorldTour season in 2019. Nevertheless, Bjorg Lambrecht could already look back on some impressive results. This year, for example, he won the junior classification at the Critérium du Dauphiné. He also finished fourth in the Flèche Wallonne, fifth in the Brabant Arrow and sixth in the Amstel Gold Race. The year before, he drew attention to himself by finishing runner-up in the World Championship in the U23 road race. In 2017 he won the Liège – Bastogne – Liège junior event. So the versatile Bjorg Lambrecht had a great career ahead of him. Unfortunately, he can no longer experience this.
And then his world stopped turning… A letter to Bjorg and all his loved ones… ❤️ https://t.co/yXpCREsSeD pic.twitter.com/JDexwAYvWu
— Lotto Soudal (@Lotto_Soudal) August 6, 2019