The first documented deaths of competitive cyclists during competition or training date to the 1890s and early 1900s when the recently-invented safety bicycle made cycling more popular, both as a sport and as a mode of transport.[1] The athletes listed here were either professional cyclists, professional pacemakers or well-known competitive amateurs who had a cycling-related death, mostly during a race or during training. Pacemakers are motorcyclists utilized in motor-paced racing, riding motorcycles in front of their cycling teammates to provide additional speed to those cyclists via the resulting slipstream.[2]
Safety has been a concern since cycling's early days. By 1929, at least 47 people had died while racing at velodromes – 33 cyclists and 14 pacemakers.[3] Motor-paced cycling still exists in the modern era as keirin racing and derny racing. A number of professionals and competitive amateurs have been killed in crashes with motorized vehicles while training on public roads plus there is a growing number of cyclists who have died of heart attacks while cycling in a race or while training.[4] Some of these deaths affect cycle racing afterwards – the death of Andrey Kivilev in a crash during the 2003 Paris–Nice race caused the Union Cycliste Internationale to institute a mandatory helmet rule.
The dangers of the various sporting forms of cycling continue to be an issue,[5] including training on public roadways.[6] A survey of 2008 Olympics teams, however, indicated that cycling was not even in the top six most injury-prone sports during competition that year.[7] Racing cyclists who have died during a race or during training are remembered by cycling aficionados and the cycling press. Their personal effects are exhibited in museums,[8] their cemetery markers and tombstones are visited by fans, and as one commentator wrote: "Plaques, statues and shrines to cycling's fallen heroes are scattered all over Europe's mountain roads, turning any ride into a pilgrimage."[9]
| Name | Image | Competitive status | Date of death | Nationality | Location of death and additional information | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Track cyclist | Crashed at the Velodrome in Vichy while tandem racing as a track cyclist. Died six days later at the age of 21, was the first death in a cycling crash on a French track.[10] | |||||
| Track cyclist (professional) | While participating in a race at Aston on Easter Monday of 1897 Harris' 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. Tens of thousands of mourners lined the streets of Leicester for his funeral procession.[11] [12] [13] [14] [15] | |||||
| Pacemaker | Due to a fall during a competition on the winter track in Hamburg, Muller died directly at the scene. Kocher, the cyclist of the pacemaker, decided to quit cycling. | |||||
| Pacemakers | During a race at the Waltham, Massachusetts track, four tandem-motorcycles crash. Pacemakers Miles and Stafford, both 25 years old, are killed in the crash.[16] | |||||
| [17] | Track cyclist |  Sweden | Injured during December 16, 1900 competitors' crash at the New York City/Madison Square Garden Six-Day Race.[18] [19] [20] Died on the 22nd from aftereffects of the crash, from exhaustion and pneumonia.[21] | |||
| Track cyclist | Nelson was a professional cyclist originally from Chicago. On September 4, 1901 he was in a 15-mile match race with Jimmy Michael at Madison Square Garden. Two miles into the race a tire on Nelson's pacemaker's vehicle exploded. Nelson then collided with the vehicles of both his pacemaker and Michael's pacemaker. Nelson's leg was badly lacerated in the crash and he suffered a massive blood loss. He died two days later in Bellevue Hospital.[22] [23] | |||||
| Road cyclist | Kerff crashed during the French cycling classic Marseille–Paris in which his brother Marcel also participated. The cause was unknown but Kerff had no visible injuries and was unconscious immediately after the crash. He was taken to the hospital in Aix-en-Provence but was dead on arrival.[24] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Died in a crash at Charles River Track in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[25] [26] Held the world record for "paced-cycle racing" during most of his career and just prior to his fatal crash had achieved a new 5 Miles World Record (going that distance in 6 minutes, 12 1/5 seconds) as well as achieving world's records for 10 and 15 miles.[27] Major Taylor in his autobiography called Elkes "one of the greatest middle-distance riders that ever pedalled a bicycle."[28] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Collided with his pacemaker during an October 11, 1903 race on the Dresden track and died that evening.[29] [30] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Died during a stayers race at the Marseille velodrome[31] [32] | |||||
| Track cyclist, pacemaker | Died at the track while acting as a pacemaker during a race[33] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Died from injuries he received in a crash on a track at Magdeburg, Germany.[34] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Was killed during a paced race between himself and Thaddeus Robl at the Plauen track in Saxony, Germany. Was utilizing a 24-inch tire on a 22-inch wheel and in the moments before his fatal crash Käser had just pushed back his safety helmet.[35] [36] [37] [38] [39] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Died as a result of injuries during a race at the Parc des Princes track (or velodrome) in Paris. Had been going 92 kmh/57 mph at the time.[40] [41] | |||||
| Road & Track cyclist | Died November 20, 1904 as a result of the injuries he received in a crash at a Berlin track a year or two before where his skull was fractured.[42] It is thought that Michael probably had some kind of brain damage from the fall, as afterwards he suffered from severe headaches, had partial paralysis of his face, and had lapses of memory. Michael was en route from the UK to the United States on the ocean steamer "Savoie". The night before he died Michael complained of feeling sick and nauseous, telling the ship's doctor that his symptoms were the result of the Berlin track crash.[43] [44] Some sources state he died from alcoholic delirium tremens[45] or a brain hemorrhage. | |||||
| Track cyclist | Crashed into his pacemaker's motorcycle when the engine failed, died eleven days later. The crash occurred during an attempt to break the Paced Hour Record (meaning how much distance could be achieved within an hour) at the Parc des Princes velodrome.[46] [47] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Sevenich's sixth stayer competition as a professional was the Grand Prix of Brunswijk on 7 May 1905. During the race a pacer's motorcycle collided with others on the track and Sevenich was crushed to death against the track's guardrail.[48] [49] [50] [51] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Suffered a skull fracture in a crash during the European Championship at the Leipzig track and died a few hours afterwards[52] [53] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Collided with a pacemaker's motorcycle at the track in Magdeburg. An artery in his right leg was torn open and he died at the track as a result of his injuries.[54] [55] | |||||
| Track cyclist (amateur) & Stayer | Fatally injured during a 100 km race, the Kleinen Golden Rad von Halle[56] [57] | |||||
| Track cyclist, pacemaker | Died in a crash on the Spandau Track in Berlin.[58] [59] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Died in his sleep on June 21 as a result of a crash during a 50-mile pace-following race on the Dresden track June 9, 1907[60] [61] [62] | |||||
| Pacemaker | Düsseldorf track[63] | |||||
| Track cyclist (amateur) | During "Die Goldpokal", a 100 km stayers' race, Hübner fell to the track when his pacing motorcycle broke down, then was fatally injured when a succeeding cycle ran over his body.[64] [65] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Died in a crash at the Brandenburg track with his brother Otto as pacemaker. The two Schadebrodt brothers were a team, Otto Schadebrodt the pacemaker riding a motorcycle in front and Gustav riding his bicycle behind.[66] [67] | |||||
| Pacemaker | While standing at the edge of the Dresden Track, Wolf was run over by a fellow pacemaker.[68] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Verbist collided with his pacemaker's (Constant Ceurremans') motorcycle on the Bruxelles track.[69] [70] [71] Verbist is the subject of a macabre Flemish folk-poem... "Chareltje, Chareltje Verbist, hadt ge niet gereden op de pist(e), hadt ge niet gelegen in de kist."[72] which roughly translates to "Verbist, if you hadn't ridden your bike, you may not have ended up in a coffin." | |||||
| Track cyclist | Zehlendorf Velodrome[73] | |||||
| Pacemaker | Velodrome Hall[74] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Velodrome Hall | |||||
| Track cyclist | Strasbourg, France[75] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Killed almost instantly during a 100-kilometer event on the Cologne track. Gus Lawson, Paul Guignard's pacemaker, lost control of his pacemaking motorcycle when the back tire blew out. Emil Meinhold, Scheuermann's pacemaker, then collided – at 50 mph on his motorcycle – straight into the wreckage.[76] [77] Scheuermann and Lawson were both killed almost instantly. Meinhold was mistakenly reported in the newspapers of the day to have died (which error has been repeated in modern references[78]) but he recovered from his injuries and was involved in the cycling world for many years afterwards.[79] [80] | |||||
| Pacemaker | Killed immediately in a multi bicycle–motorcycle crash on the Cologne track during a 100-kilometer event. (See Richard Scheuermann Notes' above) | |||||
| Track cyclist | Berlin Velodrome Stadium | |||||
| Piet van Nek Sr.[81] | Track cyclist | Injured and died as a result of a tire blow-out on the Leipzig track during the inaugural Grote Oostprijs, a 100+ km race. van Nek's Amsterdam artistic gravesite marker is a well-known monument in Amsterdam.[82] | ||||
| Track cyclist | Treptow track. The crash occurred on July 15, Hamann died six days later in hospital.[83] | |||||
| Pacemaker | Treptow track[84] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Died shortly after a crash at the Düsseldorf Germany track that happened when one of his tires blew out[85] [86] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Died in a crash on the track of the Vélodrome d'Hiver Paris.[87] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Günther died the day after an October 6 crash at a track in Düsseldorf. He was involved in a collision with his pacemaker's motorcycle after the motorcycle's rear tire burst.[88] [89] | |||||
| Track cyclist | [90] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Olympia track, Berlin[91] | |||||
| [92] | Pacemaker | Died in a crash during a track race at Amsterdam's "Het Stadion". Thousands attended Oorlemans' funeral procession.[93] [94] | ||||
| Track cyclist | Magdeburg track[95] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Stayer. Died from a fall at the Parc des Princes.[96] The crash was immortalized by Ernest Hemingway in A Moveable Feast with "where we saw that great rider Ganay fall and heard his skull crumple under the crash helmet as you crack an hard-boiled egg against a stone to peel it on a picnic."[97] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Leipzig track[98] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Crashed while training on the concrete track at Oerlikon in Zurich[99] [100] | |||||
| Pacemaker | / | Died in a crash on the track at Cologne. Also involved in Karel (Charles) Verbist's fatal crash in 1909[101] | ||||
| Pacemaker | Died after a fall on the Cologne-Riehl track during a stayer race, while riding as a pacemaker for Emil Thollembeek[102] Was a survivor of the 1909 Friedenau disaster. | |||||
| [103] | Track cyclist | Run over by a pacemaker after his bicycle slipped on a rain-soaked track[104] | ||||
| Road cyclist | Died in a crash during the Belgian club championship road race in Uccle, Belgium.[105] [106] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Track championships[107] | |||||
| Road cyclist | Tour de France. "Fell down a ravine near Bourg-d'Oisans", died while making the Col du Galibier descent.[108] | |||||
| Road cyclist (amateur) | Brother and training partner of 1938 and 1948 Tour de France winner Gino Bartali. Giulio and Gino Bartali were participating in a regional championship race in Florence, the Targa Chiari, when a car drove onto the course and mowed Giulio down. He died two days later in hospital, never having regained consciousness.[109] | |||||
| Track and Road cyclist (amateur) | Melbourne to Sale Race. Johnson was riding on the Princes Highway, when he slowed due to a puncture and was hit by a truck laden with timber.[110] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Track Gent[111] | |||||
| Track cyclist | A world champion stayer, Raynaud died during an Antwerp Sportpaleis track race.[112] | |||||
| Adrien Buttafochi | Road cyclist | As he was descending the Col Esteret pass during the Grand Prix d'Antibes, Buttafocchi crashed into a wayward vehicle driving up the hill. He lingered in a coma for a few days before dying.[113] [114] | ||||
| Road & Track cyclist | Riding in a motor pacing event, Walter "Hefty" Stuart's front tire blew out, causing him to fall and he was run over by a following pacing motorcycle. Stuart died in hospital two weeks later.[115] | |||||
| Road cyclist | Alavoine's professional career lasted from 1908 until 1925, he won 17 Tour de France stages along the way. In 1943 at the age of 55 he died during a veterans race in Argenteuil.[116] [117] [118] | |||||
| Road cyclist | Crashed into a tunnel wall on a descent of the Sustenpas near Bern,[119] during the Tour of Switzerland, died onsite or shortly thereafter of his injuries.[120] [121] [122] | |||||
| Road & Track cyclist | Fractured his skull in a crash and died at the Parc des Princes track in Paris.[123] [124] [125] | |||||
| Road & Track cyclist | Died when he fractured his skull during a race at the "Parc des Princes" track in Paris | |||||
| Paul Kroll | Road, Track cyclist (professional) | Died in a crash during a Berlin 1000 laps race at the Funkturm track[126] | ||||
| Road cyclist | Died of a skull fracture suffered during the Berlin Six-Day race held in March[127] [128] | |||||
| Road cyclist | Killed in collision with press motorcycle during Critérium International (Championship of France)[129] [130] [131] | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Crashed near the end of the 1951 Tour of Piedmont (aka "Tour du Piedmont" and "Giro del Piemonte") on June 28. Finished race but then died the next day.[132] [133] | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Berlin Six Day. Died after falling during the race.[134] | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Crashed in the fourth stage of the 1952 Giro d'Italia. Died in hospital that evening.[135] [136] | |||||
| Road, Track cyclist | Metze suffered three skull fractures during his long career, which stretched from 1930 until 1952. The last one was fatal and occurred during a race on the Erfurt cycle track.[137] | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | 1955 World Champion (Road Race) track race at the Sportpaleis Antwerp[138] [139] | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Died of heatstroke during the 1958 Tour of Portugal[140] | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | ||||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Tour of Gippsland.[141] [142] | |||||
| Kiyoshi Kitazawa | Track cyclist (keirin) | , taking place at the Osaka Nagai Velodrome[143] | ||||
| Road cyclist (amateur) |  Denmark | Jensen collapsed during the 100-kilometer team time trial at the 1960 Summer Olympic Games, 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/104 degrees Fahrenheit and Jensen's post-crash care (being kept in a "hot military tent"), could have been probable contributing factors.[144] [145] [146] [147] [148] | ||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Died after a crash at the end of the sixth stage of the 1961 Tour of Germany[149] | |||||
| Track cyclist (keirin) | , taking place at the [150] Fell off his bike, where he died of skull fracture.[151] | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Fell unconscious from his bike on the ascent up Mont Ventoux during the Tour de France, after suffering heart issues, heatstroke, the aftereffects of taking amphetamine and other medical issues. He died shortly afterwards in hospital,[152] near where his famous memorial stands.[153] [154] | |||||
| Masamitsu Nakamura | Track cyclist (keirin) | , His and Fujishima's death at a high-profile race (the equivalent of today's GI) led to wider rule revisions by NJS to improve safety.[155] | ||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Spanish Championship[156] [157] | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Zingem, Belgium[158] | |||||
| Road and Track cyclist (professional) |  Mexico | Crashed during a regional race between Pachuca and Mexico City.[159] | ||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Grand Prix de Retie.[160] [161] [162] | |||||
| Manuel Galera[163] | Road cyclist (professional) | Tour of Andalusia[164] [165] | ||||
| Road cyclist (amateur) | While taking part in a race in Feldkirch Austria, he ran into the rear of a parked tray-topped lorry and was killed.[166] | |||||
| [167] | Road cyclist (professional) | Giro d'Italia. Died as a result of injuries when his head struck a crash barrier. | ||||
| Road, Track cyclist | Leipzig[168] | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) |  Portugal | During the Tour of Algarve.[169] Died ten days after colliding with a dog which had run onto the race-course.[170] | ||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Giro d'Italia | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Trofeo Luis Puig. Died after colliding with a car during race. | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Tour du Haut-Var in Marseilles France.[171] [172] Goffin crashed and, after spending six days in a coma, died from his injuries.[173] | |||||
| Road cyclist | Died during a criterium in the Netherlands[174] | |||||
| Track cyclist (keirin) | ||||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Tour de France.[175] [176] [177] | |||||
| [178] | Road cyclist (professional) | Criterium at Fuenlabrada[179] [180] | ||||
| Track cyclist (keirin) | Tachikawa Velodrome | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Had a major crash 1 km from the end of a stage in the Volta a Catalunya and died at a nearby hospital[181] [182] | |||||
| [183] | Road cyclist (professional) | Hit by truck during the 2000 Tour of Argentina[184] [185] | ||||
| Road, Track cyclist (professional) | Died as a result of a single-bike crash when she hit a tree during the 2000 BMC Tour event in Arlington/Boston.[186] [187] | |||||
| Track cyclist (keirin) | 2R, A-class race; . Collapsed during cooling lap after finishing 4th. Was already in cardiac arrest when doctors arrived. Later died in hospital. | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) |  Kazakhstan | Crashed during the 2003 Paris–Nice and died the next morning. Kivilev was not wearing a helmet.[188] After his death, the wearing of helmets became compulsory in all official UCI races.[189] | ||||
| Road cyclist (amateur) |  Colombia | Crashed during a stage of the Vuelta a Colombia ("Tour of Colombia") on a high-speed descent early on in the stage. Barrero died in hospital shortly thereafter.[190] | ||||
| Cyclo-cross (professional) | Passed out during an early-season cyclo-cross race in Erpe-Mere, Belgium and crashed. Some sources say that Pauwels' heart had stopped before the crash.[191] [192] | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Died of a heart attack 15 km from the finish line of the Subida al Naranco[193] [194] [195] | |||||
| Road cyclist | At 70 years of age, while competing in a time trial her bike and another bike collided — she died in hospital nine days later.[196] [197] | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Six Days of Ghent. Galvez died after coming into contact with Dimitri De Fauw and then crashing into a track railing.[198] [199] | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Portugal | Classica de Amarante.[200] Neves' collapse from heart failure caused him to crash during the race.[201] [202] [203] | ||||
| Track cyclist (keirin) | 7R of S-class qualifying race during the first day of the at the . During the penultimate part of the decisive lap, whilst attempting to pass, Uchida was nudged into one side by an overtaking rider, who then rebounded into another rider who had to rear back. This caused the spokes of Uchida's bicycle to collapse, throwing him over the handlebar face-first, striking his face onto the ground. He died in hospital hours later.[204] By then, Uchida was the 48th cyclist to die in accidents in the history of professional keirin, also the 4th to die in a GI graded event.[205] | |||||
| Track cyclist (keirin) | 3R, A-class qualifying race, . During the closing lap, he began to lose pace and collapsed where he was taken into hospital. He had already been in cardiac arrest and died shortly after. | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | During the Giro del Friuli Venezia Giulia[206] at Pesariis,[207] Casarotto hit the wing mirror of a SUV parked on the course and then crashed. He died September 15, 2010, of head injuries and trauma.[208] | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Fatal crash on the Passo del Bocco during the third stage of the 2011 Giro d'Italia[209] | |||||
| Track cyclist (keirin) | 9R, A-class qualifying race, . Crashed into a timing equipment, used for photo finishes, after swerving inward to avoid another rider, who fell off in front of him whilst fighting for the lead. Died in hospital. | |||||
| Road cyclist | Dewilde was involved in a fatal crash during a regional event for elite racing cyclists without a contract, Brugge (West-Vlaanderen), Belgium[210] [211] | |||||
| Road cyclist (amateur) |  Ireland | Died after collision with a car during the Severn Bridge Road Race in Gloucestershire[212] | ||||
| Road cyclist |  Uruguay | Graces was involved in a fatal crash during last stage of Vuelta Ciclista del Uruguay after collision with a motorcycle during the time trial final stage of the race[213] | ||||
| Track cyclist | Died in Cape Town, South Africa, during a keirin race[214] | |||||
| Mountainbiker | Died in Grenoble, France, due to a crash during a UCI World Cup XCE race in Méribel, France[215] | |||||
| Enduro/Mountainbike (amateur) | Died in Crested Butte during an Enduro World Series race[216] | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Died in hospital in Lille, due to injuries sustained in a crash during the Gent–Wevelgem race. Having been one of a group of cyclists who fell as the race went through Sainte-Marie-Cappel, he was struck by a motorbike accompanying the race.[217] | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Died in hospital two days after suffering a heart attack during first stage of Critérium International[218] [219] | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Died a week after suffering two heart attacks at the Under-23 Carpathian Couriers Race in Poland.[220] | |||||
| Road cyclist Iranian Paralympic | 2016 Summer Paralympics. Had a head injury after colliding with a rock midway through the C4 road race of the Paralympics. Subsequently had cardiac arrest and died on the way to hospital.[221] [222] | |||||
| Road, Track cyclist | Suffered a fatal heart attack while riding in the omnium event at the African Continental Track Championships at the Cyril Geoghegan Velodrome in Durban, South Africa.[223] He was a member of the Bahraini VIB Bikes road race team. | |||||
| Road endurance cyclist | Died after being struck by a car on the outskirts of Canberra, Australia. He was in second place in a 3,300-mile race, the Indian Pacific Wheel Race, which was subsequently cancelled.[224] | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Received severe head injuries in a fall on a descent during the final stage of the Tour of the Gila into Pinos Altos, New Mexico and died in hospital in Tucson five days later.[225] [226] | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Died after crashing in the Pro-1-2 criterium at Tour of Kansas City[227] | |||||
| Road cyclist (amateur) | Died after being rear-ended by a vehicle on the A41 near Aylesbury while attempting a 10 mile national record for his age (91) in a time trial.[228] | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) Shell Pacific team | Died instantly in a collision on the descent of the Col de La Pirogue during Stage 9 of the Tour de Nouvelle-Calédonie[229] | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | During the Paris–Roubaix classic, Goolaerts suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest on the third cobbled sector at Saint-Python, after 109 km of racing. He was resuscitated by paramedics and transferred by helicopter to CHRU-Hospital in Lille, although he died later that day.[230] | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) Acrog-Pauwelssauzen-Balen team | Died after colliding with a van on the Mémorial Alfred Gadenne after a group of three riders took the wrong turning at a junction[231] | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Suffered cardiac arrest during the Omloop van de Braakman race[232] | |||||
| Road cyclist (professional) | Crashed into a concrete culvert during stage three of the 2019 Tour de Pologne. He was taken to a hospital by ambulance and died during surgery.[233] | |||||
| Road / Gravel Cyclist |  Kenya | Kangangi was killed in a high speed crash while riding in a gravel race in Vermont.[234] | ||||
| Road Cyclist (professional) |  Switzerland | Gino Mäder died following a crash on the descent of the Albula Pass on stage 5 of the Tour de Suisse.[235] | ||||
| Road Cyclist (professional) |  Norway | Drege died during the descent of the Grossglockner High Alpine Road on stage 4 of the 2024 Tour of Austria.[236] |
The following athletes died while individually training for competitions or during scheduled breaks while participating in a professional race. The only incident of multiple deaths from a team involved Néstor Mora, Augusto Triana, and Hernán Patiño from Team Postobón in 1995. The death rates for cyclists, in general, differ from country to country depending on how popular cycling is. A 2015 study of European Union cyclists' deaths, for instance, showed that in the Netherlands almost 25% of road deaths were cyclists while Greece had less than 5%.[6]
| Name | Image | Competitive status | Date of death | Nationality | Location of death and additional information | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Track cyclist | Coliseum Cycling Track, Atlantic City, New Jersey.[237] McEachern was participating in a practice run prior to the Atlantic City velodrome's official opening. Riding close to the pace vehicle, McEachern was fatally injured when the bike's drive chain broke and died within minutes.[238] [239] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Unknown | Parc des Princes track. 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.[240] | ||||
| [241] | Track cyclist | Died at Aubervilliers, France in 1903.[242] [243] [244] | ||||
| Track cyclist | Revere, Massachusetts cycling track. Died as a result of a training crash earlier in the month at the cycling track in Revere, Massachusetts.[245] [246] | |||||
| Road cyclist | Struck by a train while training with his brother Paul near Courbevoie, France[247] [248] | |||||
| Road cyclist | [249] 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.[250] [251] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Unknown | Died while training on the Frankfurt (Germany) track[252] | ||||
| Track cyclist | Died on the "Aalsterweg" near Eindhoven after being hit by a bus.[253] | |||||
| Track cyclist | Fell off his bike and fractured his skull on August 16, during training camp at the, preparing for the 1968 UCI Track Cycling World Championships. Later died in hospital of cerebral contusion. Hirama wore a leather helmet. |
| Name | Image | Competitive status | Date of death | Nationality | Location of death and additional information | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Road cyclist | Killed by a truck while training near Madrid[254] | |||||
| Road cyclist | Colombia | Three members of Team Postobón were killed almost immediately while group training when a truck collided with another vehicle, sending the second vehicle careening into the group of cyclists.[255] [256] | ||||
| Road cyclist | Colombia | |||||
| Road cyclist | Colombia | |||||
| Road cyclist professional | Sweden | Died immediately when hit by a speeding car during bicycle training, the driver left the scene. National team member in triathlon.[257] |
| Name | Image | Competitive status | Date of death | Nationality | Location of death and additional information | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Road cyclist professional | Hit by a car during a training session together with his brother Javier (who survived but had serious brain injuries). The Circuito de Getxo was renamed the Memorial Ricardo Otxoa in his honor.[258] | |||||
| Road cyclist professional | 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 crash. In 2003, Australia's Gold Coast Triathlon was renamed in Harrop's memory as the Gold Coast Triathlon – Luke Harrop Memorial.[259] [260] [261] [262] [263] | |||||
| Road cyclist amateur | Hit by a drunk driver during training[264] | |||||
| Mountainbike downhiller (pro) | Crashed and died during a practice run for the opening round of the 2003 NORBA National Championship Series at Big Bear Lake, California[265] | |||||
| Road cyclist professional |  Estonia | Hit by a truck driven by a drunk driver while training for the Estonian MTB (Mountain Biking) Championship[266] [267] | ||||
| Road cyclist | Head-on collision with a car in Germany (while training with her squad for the Thüringen Rundfahrt der Frauen which had been scheduled for the next day)[268] | |||||
| Road cyclist | Died in his sleep of a heart attack during the 2009 Tour of Qatar[269] | |||||
| Road cyclist |  Belarus | Struck and killed by a speeding car while training for the Belarus national championship on a public road.[270] [271] |
| Name | Image | Competitive status | Date of death | Nationality | Location of death and additional information | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Slovenia | Died in a head-on collision with a car while descending on a narrow mountain forest road in Plavški Rovt near Jesenice, Slovenia.[272] | |||||
 South Africa | Turned into the path of an oncoming truck in a bid to retrieve her cycling computer that she had just lost. Swart was a professional who had previously won nineteen individual and team cycling titles spanning four different variations of biking (cyclo-cross, mountain bike, road, and track) while on the Lees–McRae College cycling team.[273] | |||||
| Hit by a car while training in Italy[274] | ||||||
| Died during a training ride after colliding with a vehicle[275] [276] | ||||||
| Mountain biker | Killed in a training crash when his cycle was struck by a car[277] [278] | |||||
| Mountain biker | South Africa | Died during a training ride after colliding with a vehicle[279] | ||||
| Cyclo-cross | Hit by a truck while training in Belgium[280] | |||||
| Road cyclist | Killed during a training ride in Antwerp when he fell from his bike and was struck by a bus[281] | |||||
| Road cyclist |  Brazil | Struck by an automobile whose driver had fallen asleep, Clarindo died almost immediately after being hit.[282] | ||||
| Freerider | Died from cardiac arrest while biking on the Fernhill Loop Track in Central Otago.[283] | |||||
| Road cyclist | Died following a collision involving her bicycle and an automobile during a training ride in Sussex, New Brunswick[284] | |||||
| Road cyclist | Died after being hit by a truck, while on a training ride in Filottrano.[285] | |||||
| Road cyclist | Struck by a car while training near Bendigo, Australia[286] | |||||
| Triathlete/Duathlete | Died after colliding with a line bus on a post-race recovery ride in Weyer, Austria at 2:10 pm local time, the day after racing Powerman Austria, placing 6th. Winner of the 2017 Powerman Duathlon in Panama.[287] [288] [289] | |||||
| Mountain biker | Struck by a pickup truck while training near Durango, Colorado. Sonntag was a world-class athlete in multiple sports, including being a professional mountain cyclist. He had previously won elite world championships in winter triathlon, was an All-American in cross-country skiing for the University of Alaska Anchorage, and had won three individual national collegiate cycling titles while at Fort Lewis College in Durango – two collegiate cross-country bike national titles and a championship in short-track.[290] [291] | |||||
| Road cyclist | A member of Team Auto Eder Bayern, the Under-19 team of Bora–Hansgrohe. Struck by a car while training with teammates near Sugenheim in Bavaria.[292] |
| Name | Image | Competitive status | Date of death | Nationality | Location of death and additional information | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Road cyclist | Colombia | Hit by a public transportation bus that had reversed to pick up a passenger on the side of the road while Pedraza Castillo was doing time trial work.[293] | ||||
| Ryunosuke Narikiyo | Track cyclist (keirin) | Collision with a truck on public road whilst on a training ride with his teammates.[294] | ||||
| Road cyclist | Inglis was the 2019 US Masters road race champion in the 45-49 age group and a member of the Back Swift-Cycleton Cycling Team. She was hit by a car driven by an apparently impaired driver that veered into the bike lane while Inglis was on a training ride.[295] | |||||
| Road cyclist |  Slovakia | Babič was the champion and the vice-champion of Slovakia in the individual time trial in the under-23 category, Slovakia's junior champion in winter triathlon, and the winner of the Slovak World Cycling Cup of 2019. Competed at the 2018 World Championships. Babič was struck by a vehicle while training[296] | ||||
| Road cyclist |  Eritrea | Kidane was struck and killed while training in Asmara. At the time of her death, the 21- year old cyclist was considered a promising talent in the World Cycling Centre programme[297] | ||||
| Road cyclist and cyclocross rider |  Spain | Killed in a collision with a lorry at Villares de la Reina at the age of 19, Domínguez, from Valladolid and the daughter of a Giro d'Italia stage winner had been training for her first year as a professional with the Sopela team. [298] | ||||
| Road cyclist | Colombia | Killed in a collision with a truck while training in Chocontà his hometown at the age of 28. He was training with his father when they were both struck, killing Germán instantly and his father later in hospital. Chaves was an active cyclist since 2014 and was currently with Team Sistecrédito. | ||||
 Belgium | Collided with the rear of a car while training in Lier, close to his hometown Antwerp. He died at Antwerp University Hospital at the age of 22 as a result of his injuries. De Decker was an active rider for Lotto–Dstny Development Team and was set to join UCI ProTeam Lotto–Dstny for the 2024 UCI World Tour season.[299] |