The first documented deaths of professional cyclists during competition date to the 1890s. Before 1929 at least 47 professional riders and pacemakers[Note 1] died at velodromesintrack cycling[1][Note 2] and since 1994 a number of professionals have been killed in accidents with motorized vehicles while training on public roads. The dangers of cycling continue to be disputed among modern sources. For example, the 2005 United StatesConsumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) data showed bicycling to be nearly as dangerous as American football.[2] A survey of 2008 Olympics teams, however, indicated that cycling was not even in the top 6 most injury-prone sports during competition that year.[3]
Velodrome of Vichy. Crash while tandem racing as a track cyclist. Died 6 days later at the age of 21, was the first victim of a cycling accident on a French track.[4]
Known as "Bert Harris" or "Invincible Harris", he was the fastest short-distance rider in England, the first Professional Cycling Champion of England and was one of the most well-known athletes of his day. His last and fatal race was held at Aston on Easter Monday of 1897 where his cycle touched another rider and he was upset head-first onto the track's surface. Harris died a few days later, never having regained consciousness, and tens of thousands of mourners lined the streets of Leicester for his funeral procession.[5][6][7][8][9][10][Note 3]
Injured during December 16, 1900 competitors' crash at the New York City/Madison Square Garden Six-Day Race.[11][12] Died on the 22nd from aftereffects of crash, from exhaustion and pneumonia.[13]
Track cyclist. Charles River Track, Cambridge, Massachusetts.[14][15][16] Elkes held the world record-holder for "paced-cycle racing" during most of his career and just prior to his fatal accident had achieved a new 5 Miles World Record, going that distance in 6 minutes, 12 1/5 seconds.[14]Marshall Taylor in his autobiography called Elkes "one of the greatest middle-distance riders that ever pedalled a bicycle."[17]
Aubervilliers, France. In 1899 Taylor held a National (Stayers) Championship of France and in 1900 he was 3rd at the European Championships, 2nd at the World Championships and also beat Henry Elkes by 300 metres in a 50-mile race.[18] In his last year of competition he placed 3rd at the World Stayers Championship.[19][20]
Track cyclist.,[41] Bruxelles track. Verbist collided with his pacemaker's (Constant Ceurremans') motorcycle.[42][43] Verbist is the subject of a macabre Dutch folk-poem... "Chareltje, Chareltje Verbist, hadt ge niet gereden op de pist(e), hadt ge niet gelegen in de kist."[44]
Track cyclist. Düsseldorf[56] Guenther died the day after an October 6 accident involving his collision with his pacemaker's motorcycle after the motorcycle's rear tire burst.[57]
Stayer. Died from a terrible fall at the Parc des Princes.[61] The accident was immortalized by Ernest Hemingway in A Movable Feast with "where we saw that great rider Ganay fall and heard his skull crumple under the crash helmet as you crack a hard-boiled against a stone to peel it on a picnic."[62]
Crashed into a tunnel wall on a "descent of the Sustenpas near Bern"[74] during the Tour of Switzerland, died onsite or shortly thereafter of his injuries.[75][76][77]
Crashed near the end of the 1951 Tour of Piedmont (aka "Tour du Piedmont" and "Giro del Piemonte"). Finished race but then died on June 29, 1951.[85][86]
1960 Summer Olympic Games. The first competitor's death to occur during the modern Olympic era, Jensen collapsed during a 100-kilometer team time trial, suffering a skull fracture and dying several hours later. Some commentators state that Jensen's autopsy revealed traces of drugs in his system but the Italian authorities' 1961 report stated that the official cause of death was heatstroke. A race-day temperature of 40 degrees Celsius/93 degrees Fahrenheit and Jensen's post-accident care (being kept in a "hot military tent"), could have been probable contributing factors.[95][96][97][98][99][100][101]
During the Giro del Friuli Venezia Giulia[142] at Pesariis,[143] Casarotto hit the wing mirror of a SUV parked on the course[143] and then crashed. He died September 15, 2010 of head injuries and trauma.[144]
Died after collision with a car during the Severn Bridge Road Race in Gloucestershire[146]
Deaths during training or another reason related to cycling[edit]
These athletes did not die during competition, but rather died during training, during scheduled breaks while participating in a professional race or from another reason related to cycling. Since 1994, at least eighteen professional cyclists have been killed after being struck by a car or truck, fifteen while training, three while out cycling for pleasure.
Archie McEachern, May 13, 1902, Canada, Track cyclist. Coliseum Cycling Track, Atlantic City, New Jersey.[147] McEachern, a former middle distance Canadian National Champion, was also winner of the 1901 New York Madison Square Garden Six-Day Bicycle Race (the first Canadian to do so). In May 1902 he was participating in a practice run prior to the Atlantic City velodrome's official opening that was being paced by a tandem motorcycle (driven by his two trainers Bobby Thompson and Alfred Boake). Riding closely to the pace vehicle, McEachern was fatally injured when the bike's drive chain broke and he died within minutes.[148][149]Canadian Cyclist placed him 9th on their list of Top 25 Canadian Cyclists of the Century in 1999[148] and Journal of Sport History (Volume 1-2, published 1974) stated that he "was one of Canada's most famous professional cyclists" of his day.[150]
Breton,[151] track cyclist, Parc des Princes track, August 1902. Breton was killed when he steered his bicycle away from another cyclist and into the path of a 14 horsepower motorcycle being driven at 50 mph by Marius Thé. The track management allowed motorcyclists and racing bicyclists (called "flyers") to train at the same time.[151]
Jimmy Michael, Aberaman, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Wales, United Kingdom. 1885 & 1902 World Record-holder(Track).[152] Died while en route from the UK to the United States on the ocean steamer "Savoie". He was either suffering from alcoholic delirium tremens,[153] a brain hemorrhage[1] or possibly a combination of the two. Michael's death most certainly had its genesis in a 1903 cycling accident at Friedenau[22] where he fractured his skull[154] and thereafter suffered debilitating headaches.[21][155] November 1904
Hugh McLean, USA, died on September 9 or 10, 1909.[156] as a result of a training accident earlier in the month at the Revere, Mass. cycling track.[Note 21][157][158] McLean was a champion middle distance cyclist[157] who had placed 2nd in the 1899 World Championship (Track/Stayers) and 1st with Floyd Krebs at the 1907 Boston Six Days.[158]
Adolphe Heliére, France. Drowned while swimming during a rest day of the 1910 Tour de France.[159]
Franz Suter,[160] Switzerland, June 1, 1914. Struck by a train while training with his brother Paul near Courbevoie, France.
Floyd MacFarland, United States. 1900 & 1908 Six-Day Race Winner (Madison Square Garden). Stabbed to death with a screwdriver during practice at Newark Velodrome, April 17, 1915.[55][161]
Ottavio Bottecchia, 1924 & 1925 Tour de France Winner,[162] Italy, June 14, 1927. Found by the side of the road with bruises and serious skull fracture. The cause has remained a mystery — various theories have included a solo-crash/serious fall or an assault by unknown Fascists.[163][164]
Gustave Lejour, 1928 Track cyclist, while training on the Frankfurt (Germany) track[165]
Tommy Godwin, United Kingdom. In 1939, Godwin achieved the long-distance record for miles cycled in one year...75,065 miles. Authorities have since determined that the attempt to beat this mileage would be too dangerous so the figure will never be overtaken. Godwin died in 1975 of heart failure, aged 63, returning from a ride to Tutbury Castle with friends.[166]
Néstor Mora, Augusto Triano (or "Augusto Gonzalez")[168] and Hernán Patiño, February 21, 1995, Colombia Three members of Team Postobon were killed almost immediately while group training when a truck collided with another vehicle, sending the second vehicle careening into the group of cyclists.[169]
Beryl Burton, United Kingdom. Heart failure while out delivering invitations by bicycle to her 59th birthday party, May 8, 1996. One of the most dominating figures in world sports history, Burton regularly beat male competitors. Her 12-hour record of 277.25 miles (raced in 1967) stood as both the women's and the men's world record for two years and is still the women's world record.[170]
Edith Atkins,[172] England. Was hit by a car while pushing her bicycle across a pedestrian road crossing, August 28, 1999
Anders Nilsson, Sweden, June 21, 2000. National team member in Triathlon, professional. Died immediately when hit by a speeding car during bicycle training, the car left the scene.[173]
Ricardo Otxoa, Spain. February 15, 2001.[174] Hit by a car during a training session together with his brother Javier (who survived but suffered serious brain injuries). The Circuito de Getxo was renamed the Memorial Ricardo Otxoa in his honor.
Luke Harrop, Australia. January 13, 2002. Struck by a stolen car driven by an unlicensed driver who was out on bail at the time and who also fled the scene. Gold Coast, Brisbane, Australia during a training ride. Having severe head trauma, former champion triathlete Harrop died a day after the accident. In 2003, Australia's Gold Coast Triathlon was renamed in Harrop's memory as the Gold Coast Triathlon — Luke Harrop Memorial.[175][176][177][178][179]
Lauri Aus, Estonia. July 20, 2003. Hit by a truck driven by a drunk driver while training for the Estonian MTB (Mountain Biking) Championship.[180][181]
Stive Vermaut, Belgium. Retired from professional cycling in 2002 because of a congenital heart disease. Had a heart attack during a recreational ride on June 13, 2004 and died later that month on June 30.[182]
Amy Gillett, Australia. Head-on collision with a car in Germany on July 18, 2005 (while training with her squad for the Thüringen Rundfahrt der Frauen which had been scheduled for the next day).[183]
Zak Carr, England, UK. Struck from behind and killed while cycling to work near Norwich, on October 17, 2005[184]
Scott Peoples, Australia. Struck from behind and killed on a training ride in December 2006 in Victoria.[185]
Jason MacIntyre, Scotland, UK. Struck by a vehicle on a training ride in January 2008.[186]
Jorge Alvarado, Mexico. A Bahati pro team rider, Alvarado was training when he was struck head-on by a vehicle being driven by an 18 year old illegally street racing in San Bernardino, CA on April 8, 2010.[192][193]
Shamus Liptrot, Australia. May 10, 2011. Died as a result of injuries sustained in a "horrific crash"[194] during the Men's C Grade scratch track race[195] at the 2007 Devonport (Tasmania) Christmas Carnival.[196]
Victor Cabedo, Spain. September 19, 2012. Died during a training ride after colliding with a vehicle.[197][198]
^"Pacemakers" in this sense were motorcyclists who rode motorcycles as a team mate in front of and for specific professional cyclists. These motorized vehicles provided an additional boost of speed to the cyclists behind them via their slipstreams. (See Horman's Life in the Slipstream.)
^The total includes the professional pacemakers (14) and riders (33) but does not include injuries/deaths of bystanders. On page 101 Mangan recounts some details of the infamous 1909 Friedenau (Berlin) track accident with nine spectators being killed and 52 others injured.
^According to BBC Inside Out and other sources, the accident that caused Harris' death could be considered suspicious. The front wheel he borrowed in order to race was damaged and some have speculated about whether such an experienced cyclist would have made this mistake.
^Taylor is also known by the name of "Edouard-Henry Taylor".
^There appears to be some confusion over the year of Taylor's death, reported in various reliable sources as occurring in either 1903 or 1902. Any references to his death occurring in 1901 seem to be in error since he placed 3rd at the World Championships in 1902.
^The June 18 date seems to be the date of the accident. Dangla apparently lingered in a coma before dying of his injuries on June 24. See "ATHLETICS(Note by Amateur)".
^The accident took place on November 14, Brecy died on November 25 after lingering for 11 days.
^Pawlack is also known by the name "Georg Klein Bohrau Pawlack".
^Per Cycling Archives, this race is also known as the "Inter Clubs Championship" and took place in Uccle, Belgium.
^When Walter Rutt (the former world champion) wrote to the "American Bicyclist and Motorcyclist(Volume 71)" published in 1950, he referred to this race not as the actual Six-Day Race but as a 'team race that was run before' it and that this team race was of a 'A Thousand Laps'(150 km) variety.
^There were two Berlin Six-Days run in 1951. Van Beek died while racing the March 1951 Berlin Six-Day and Mirk/e died during the December Six-Day.
^Metze's month of death is variously reported as being either in May(Velo Gotha) or in July.(www.cyclingarchives.com)
^Ockers crashed on September 29 and died two days later, thousands of people took to the streets for his funeral.[90][92]
^Jim Taylor was a fellow cyclist riding in the Tour and was also hit by the bus that killed Mockridge.
^The circumstances surrounding Simpson's death were controversial. The autopsy report said that drugs (amphetamines) were found in his system but judged the cause of death as being a combination of heat-stroke, oxygen depletion and physical exertion. Notwithstanding the drugs in his system the temperature that day was at least 42 degrees Celsius and the fact that Tour officials limited riders to four bottles (about 2 litres) of water a day was most probably a contributing factor.
^Wilcockson refers to the race as "a kermesse race at Retié".
^Juan Maneul's last name is also sometimes spelled: "Santiesteban".
^Espinosa's is also known as "José Antonio Espinosa Hernandez".
^Espinosa's accident actually occurred during a team time trial ("el Criterium de Fuenlabrada") for the Fuenlabrada race, not the actual race itself.
^The date of McLean's death is reported as both September 3 (The World almanac) and as "early today" September 9 or 10th (News from the Outside World).
^Sport-Album der Rad-Welt, Vol. 15/1917, p. 63. Berlin, Verlag Rad-Welt.
^German Cyclist Fatally Hurt. Motorcycle and Bicycle Illustrated (Volume 13). August 23, 1917. p. 34. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
^"Jacob Esser". Ciclo Museo Gino Bartali (Associazione Amici del Museo del Ciclismo). Retrieved November 28, 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
^"Velo Gotha "Annuaire du cyclisme professionnel"(Directory of professional cycling)" (Document). Editions Presses de Belgique. 1984. p. 342. {{cite document}}: Unknown parameter |publication-place= ignored (help)
^Ottoman, Joseph (January 28, 2010). "The case of Tom Simpson" (Document). SportVintage. {{cite document}}: Unknown parameter |accessdate= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |url= ignored (help)
^Balf, Todd (2009). Major: A Black Athlete, a White Era and the Fight to Be the World's Fastest Human Being. Random House. p. 199. ISBN978-0-307-23659-3.
^ ab"Cyclist Killed by Pacing Motor". Motor Cycling and Motoring — with 'The Motor'. Vol. 2, no. 29. London (published August 27, 1902). 1902. p. 46. Retrieved August 3, 2010.