During the Giro d’Italia, Belgian rider Wouter Weylandt crashed on a mountain side descent.
Now, not just “crash”, like the average “woohoo!” crashes during le Tour*. I mean like, “meet your maker” crash.
A moment of silence before the fourth stage
Gory Details (cited directly from article):
- Weylandt “died instantly” and “did not suffer
- The rider suffered fatal skull and facial injuries as well as damage to his pelvis and a broken leg
- Propelled 20 metres** to the ground below where he landed heavily on his face
Essentially, he toppled down a mountainside and smashed himself up good. No helmet could have helped this guy. It’s like if you were driving your car into a ravine. Minus the car.
Linking arms for their fallen bruthah
The clenchers?
- His woman is giving birth to their first child in September. T
- The next day race was more of a procession than a race, with Weylandt’s team invited to cross the finish line in the lead.
- And then they crossed the line together while linking arms! Awwww 🙁
In a turn cloak kind of way, I was about to mock that form of death (death by cycling). But I was just recalling today (while staring at a rider with no helmet) how I would have LOVED to die while on my bike when I was in high school (and quite the kamikaze rider with no helmet back then, too). As long as it is “painless” and I “do not suffer” (which honestly, has got to be pretty rare for anyone who gets smashed up on their bike).
Ay ay ay. No helmet would have saved him. 🙁
Let this be a lesson to you – don’t fall down the side of a mountain while cycling, k? This is why I won’t bike Las Virgines canyon in Malibu!!!!
*Cycling:Crashes::Hockey:Fights????
**65 Ft for my American readers
