Wouter Weylandt
Personal information | |
---|---|
Full name | Wouter Weylandt |
Born | Ghent, Belgium[1] | 27 September 1984
Died | 9 May 2011 Mezzanego, Italy | (aged 26)
Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) |
Weight | 72 kg (159 lb) |
Team information | |
Discipline | Road |
Role | Rider |
Rider type | Sprinter |
Professional teams | |
2004–2010 | Quick-Step–Davitamon |
2011 | Leopard Trek |
Major wins | |
Grand Tours
|
Wouter Weylandt (27 September 1984 – 9 May 2011)
Career
In September 2004, Wouter Weylandt became a member of the team Quick-Step–Davitamon, participating in the Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen, Grote Prijs Jef Scherens and Circuit Franco-Belge, where he took twelfth place. He was part of the Belgian team in the under-23 category at the 2005 UCI Road World Championships.[2]
Weylandt turned professional for
In 2006, his first full season, he finished fifth in the
In 2007, Weylandt won further victories. In March, he won a stage of the Three Days of West Flanders, which he finished second overall, 5 seconds behind
2008 began just as well for Weylandt. He won the sprint in Nokere Koerse, and finished second in the Tour of the Groene Hart, defeated by
Following the death of his friend Frederiek Nolf at the Tour of Qatar in February 2009, Weylandt won two more victories early in the season. He won the Memorial José Samyn race after a breakaway with Rémi Cusin, and four days later, he won another stage of the Three Days of West Flanders. He finished eleventh in Paris–Roubaix in April.[3]
In the absence of satisfactory results in late 2009 and early 2010, he was publicly criticized by the Quick Step manager
Although his contract at
Death
In stage 3 of the
The medical chief of staff of the Giro, Dr. Tredici, was right behind the accident in a service car and reported that he ran to Weylandt less than 20 seconds after the crash but, he said on Sky News, "...he was already and clearly dead upon impact. I had never seen such a thing before, such a sudden death." Tredici also reported about the very severe trauma Weylandt's contact with the wall had caused him: had Weylandt survived, injuries to his left foot and lower leg would likely have necessitated their amputation. The Giro d'Italia medical team and Garmin's team doctor performed resuscitation attempts for around 45 minutes, drying Weylandt's lungs, infusing liquids to counteract his large blood loss, and administering adrenaline and atropine to support and restart his heart beat and respiration. Meanwhile, an emergency team was rushing to the incident by helicopter. Upon their arrival, Weylandt was declared dead at the scene due to facial and basal skull fractures, as his injuries were too severe to allow resuscitation. It was determined that his heart had stopped immediately upon impact. Forensic exams the next day found extensive internal organ damage.[7][8][9] This autopsy confirmed that the cyclist was "dead on the spot and did not suffer."[10] Weylandt was wearing a helmet, as all professional road cyclists have been obliged to do since May 2003.[11]
Weylandt was the fourth rider to die in the history of the Giro d'Italia.[12]
Weylandt was survived by his girlfriend, An-Sophie, who, at the time of the crash, was five months pregnant with the couple's first child.[13] Their daughter, Alizée, was born on September 1, 2011.[14]
Tributes
In tribute to Weylandt, the following day's stage of the race was neutralized, with teams taking turns to ride in front, and all riders wearing black armbands. A
Before the start of the third stage of the 2012 Giro d'Italia, a short ceremony was held and a minute's silence was observed.[19]
On 9 May 2013, the second anniversary of Weylandt's accident, the winner of the 6th stage of the 2013 Giro d'Italia, Mark Cavendish, held aloft Weylandt's race number, 108, in remembrance while standing on the victor's podium.
Major results
- 2005
- 6th Overall Circuit Franco-Belge
- 9th Grand Prix de Fourmies
- 2006
- 1st Points classification Tour de Pologne
- 2nd Nokere Koerse
- 5th Overall Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen
- 5th Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
- 7th Halle–Ingooigem
- 7th Grand Prix Pino Cerami
- 2007
- 1st Ronde van het Groene Hart
- 1st Stage 1 Tour of Belgium
- 1st Stage 2 Ster Elektrotoer
- 1st Stage 5 Eneco Tour
- 2nd Overall Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen
- 1st Stage 3
- 4th Scheldeprijs
- 6th Veenendaal–Veenendaal
- 8th Nationale Sluitingprijs
- 10th Overall Circuit Franco-Belge
- 2008
- 1st Stage 17 Vuelta a España
- 1st Nokere Koerse
- 1st Omloop van de Vlaamse Scheldeboorden
- 2nd Ronde van het Groene Hart
- 3rd Gent–Wevelgem
- 5th Overall Circuit Franco-Belge
- 6th Dutch Food Valley Classic
- 8th Scheldeprijs
- 2009
- 1st Le Samyn
- 1st Stage 3 Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen
- 9th Dwars door Vlaanderen
- 10th Paris–Roubaix
- 2010
- 1st Stage 3 Giro d'Italia
- 1st Stage 4 Circuit Franco-Belge
- 2nd Nationale Sluitingsprijs
- 5th Scheldeprijs
- 5th Omloop van het Houtland
- 8th Paris–Tours
- 2011
- 9th Rund um Köln
References
- ^ a b Personal details at Cycling Archives
- ^ "Stagiaire contract for Weylandt". Survey.cyclingnews.com. 1 August 2004. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
- ^ "DH.be – Weylandt veut s'affranchir". Dhnet.be. 28 January 2010. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
- ^ "Lefevere Blasts Belgian Federation, Devolder And Weylandt". Cyclingnews.com. 30 March 2010. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
- ^ "Weylandt Out Of Hospital And Training Again". Cyclingnews.com. 25 May 2010. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
- ^ Macur, Juliet (10 May 2011). "Belgian Cyclist Dies After Crashing in Giro d'Italia". The New York Times. p. B11. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
- ^ "Cyclist Wouter Weylandt dies after Giro d'Italia crash". BBC News. 9 May 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
- ^ ESPN. "Weylandt involved in horror crash at Giro". Retrieved 9 May 2011.
- ^ Corriere della Sera. "Ciclista belga cade al Giro e muore". Retrieved 9 May 2011.
- ^ "Giro: autopsia, Weylandt morto sul colpo". Retrieved 10 May 2011.
- ^ "Mandatory wear of helmets for the elite category" (Press release). Union Cycliste Internationale. 2 May 2003. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
- ^ news.yahoo.com. "Cyclist Wouter Weylandt dies in fall at Giro". Retrieved 12 May 2011.
- ^ VeloNews. "Wouter Weylandt, 1984–2011". Retrieved 9 May 2011.
- ^ "Weylandt family welcomes baby girl". Cyclingnews.com. 3 September 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ "Giro d\'Italia 2011: In commemoration of Wouter Weylandt, Team Leopard-Trek leaves the race".
- ^ "Giro honors Weylandt with neutral stage, peloton vows to race Wednesday".
- ^ "Weylandt's race number retired from Giro d'Italia".
- ^ "Farrar takes emotional victory for Weylandt".
- ^ "Wouter Weylandt remembered". The Daily Telegraph. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.