17-year-old Italian dies during the Tour of Upper Austria

Just five weeks after the death of Swiss professional cyclist Gino Mäder, there has been another fatal accident in cycling.

After a crash on the second half-stage of the Tour of Upper Austria for juniors, a young Italian rider succumbed to his injuries during the night. The organisers announced this on Facebook. The tour was cancelled.

The team of the cyclist who died in the accident, Campana Imballaggi Geo&Tex Trentino, said they were "teary-eyed and devastated". The 17-year-old was an exceptional young man "with a future that was to be written in sport and above all in life, and this hurts all the more". The entire team is "gathered in this moment of great sadness for his family, his friends and all those who loved him", the racing team announced. "We now have one more angel up there to protect us. You can't imagine how much we will miss you."

Crashed on the descent

The 17-year-old Italian crashed on the descent from the Mistelbacher Berg during the stage from Haid to Marchtrenk. He was immediately treated by race doctors and then flown by rescue helicopter to the Kepler University Hospital in Linz. The stage was initially stopped and then cancelled due to the rescue measures.

Just five weeks ago, the Swiss rider Mäder from the professional Bahrain-Victorious team died after an accident. The 26-year-old also crashed on a descent during the Tour de Suisse and suffered serious injuries, which he succumbed to in hospital.

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