Paris-roubaix race accident

In the one day cycling event Paris-Roubaix, a punishingroad race, a Belgian cyclist was found sprawled on the side of the road. Michael Goolaerts, suffered a heart attack during the race and was rushed to the nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. It's a sad day for cycling considering that the cyclist was only 23 years old.

 

Right at 1:00 into the video, you can see him crash in the turn.

 

Yeah, it was quite heartbreaking and is a really sad note on an otherwise great race.

 

Two years ago another young Belgian cyclist who had ridden for the same team as Goolaerts died from an apparent heart attack. Perhaps it's just a coincidence, but it seems suspicious and certainly worth investigating. Young riders should not be dying from heart attacks.

 

That was NOT an accident, he died from a heart malfunction as you stated but you titled it as an accident, as a result of the heart attack he had an accident but by then he was probably already dead.

The big question I want to know is was the heart attack a belated symptom of a birth defect, or was he doing some sort of performance drug that adversely affected his heart? I have a feeling we may never know.

 

I recently was priveleged to see Wondeful Losers which is a film/documentary inside the Giro d'Italia shot by Arunas Matelis, a award winning director. It has recieved numerous intenmational awards and is in the Best Foreign Picture and Best Documentary categories for Academy of Motion Pictures 2019. It can be viewed online at wonderfullosersdotcom. I really urge everyone to see it and support this. Shot primarily in English over several races. No actors just Peloton! I agree it is incredible what they endure to help the team!