(Reuters) – Belgian rider Tijl De Decker has died as a result of severe injuries he sustained in a crash during training last Wednesday, his team Lotto Dstny said on Friday.
The 22-year-old crashed into the back of a car and was taken to hospital in Lier, Belgium, where he immediately had surgery before being transported to the Antwerp University Hospital later that evening, the Belgian team said.
“Despite the best efforts of the staff at the hospital, Tijl couldn’t make it through and this morning he lost his battle,” Lotto Dstny said in a statement.
De Decker joined Lotto Dstny earlier this year. He was being prepared to step up to the ProTeam in 2024 after showing good progress with a stage win in the Tour de Taiwan and winning the under-23 Paris-Roubaix race among other events.
“We are devastated by the loss of our cyclist,” said team CEO Stephane Heulot. “Tijl showed big progression this year and we believed in his growth margin. Stepping up to the ProTeam was a logical choice.
“Unfortunately he will never turn pro and we will always remember him as a talented young rider and a warm and friendly person off the bike.”
U.S. Junior Men’s National Team member Magnus White died aged 17 in July after being hit by a car while training in his home city Boulder, Colorado days after Italian cyclist Jacopo Venzo, also 17, died after a crash during a race in Austria.
(Reporting by Anita Kobylinska in Gdansk; Editing by Ken Ferris)
