Balance. It can be achieved by never deviating from the middle, or it can be achieved by violent swings to and fro. It is said, however, that the great peaks can’t be reached without crossing through deep valleys. Tragically, we were reminded today that our sport is one of great peaks and deep, deep valleys.
Cycling is a sport of risk and danger; the beauty and harmony of a speeding peloton masks the risks and dangers involved. Mountain descents see riders reach speeds of 80 or more kilometers per hour with little to protect them should something go wrong. Stars and watercarriers alike share in the risk; no one is immune.
You have to love this sport intensely to become a professional. The nature of road competition demands great sacrifice in every aspect of the athlete’s life; eat like birds, work like horses, and live like monks. Not only does a professional cyclist spend every waking moment focussed on their sport, but from January to October, they are away from their families as the race calendar carries them all over Europe and, increasingly, the world. This sacrifice is most often in the service of others, as the Stars are few and the Watercarriers many.
While only a few weeks ago we watched as one of these domestiques reached the pinacle of our sport by winning Paris-Roubaix, today we witnessed the tragic swing to the other end as Wouter Weylandt lost his life in the pursuit of his passion. We can be philosophical and say this man lived for his sport and died doing what he loved, but the fact of the matter is that his is a man who, at 26 years old, was in the prime of his life and that he died today is tragic beyond articulation.
As Velominati, we are disciples of cycling. Our lives revolve around cycling. At moments like these, it is unimaginable that life and sport will continue. It will, and we will again reach the peaks. But we breathe still, and our devotion cannot follow where others’ continue.
Today we walk through a valley and mourn as Velominati the tragic loss of a man who gave everything – everything – to his sport. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family, friends, and colleagues.
I know as well as any of you that I've been checked out lately, kind…
Peter Sagan has undergone quite the transformation over the years; starting as a brash and…
The Women's road race has to be my favorite one-day road race after Paris-Roubaix and…
Holy fuckballs. I've never been this late ever on a VSP. I mean, I've missed…
This week we are currently in is the most boring week of the year. After…
I have memories of my life before Cycling, but as the years wear slowly on…
View Comments
Well said Frank and everyone else.
It's worth to add also the words of Tyler Farrar on Weylandt
From CyclingNews:
Tyler Farrar made a poignant statement on Monday evening:
"I am unbearably saddened by the loss of Wouter today. As many know, he was my friend, training partner, and in many ways, another brother to me. His death marks and irreparable change in my life but more importantly, in the lives of his family and most loved.
"Wouter was one of the kindest, funniest, and most admirable people I have ever had the opportunity to know and his death is a tragedy to his family, his friends, and to the sport as a whole.
"I can only convey my deepest of sympathies to everyone who cared about him as deeply as I did, especially his family, his friends, his team and his fans - we celebrate his life and morn his death in equal measure.
"Wouter was and is the soul of this sport we all love - an athlete who sacrificed himself for the better of many and a champion who celebrated each glory as a victory for his family, his team, and his friends and fans.
"I will remember him always, and will always strive to do him proud, as he has always done for the sport and people he loves."
These words are perfect for what happened yesterday. Everyone in our club is very sad.
@Karolinka
I guess that is the thing that has struck me most about this incident is his pregnant girlfriend. I can't even comprehend what she must be feeling right now. Maybe the fact that she has a part of him gestating in her womb will help console her. I don't know.
Woah, I didn't realize that Wouter won Stage 3 last year at the Giro. Very strange coincidence. Or, if you think things work in bigger ways, I guess his time here was up & he was slated to move on.
Watching this morning & seeing the racers, hearing the interviews, and watching on Eurosport is helping, a bit, but still pretty upset by Wouter's death.
- I thought Farrar's open letter was really heartfelt & poignant. He's going home after the stage today.
A-Merckx, and hear, hear.
Watching today's stage is really hard. I can't imagine how painful it is for the guys on Leopard.
We all know when on the bicycle, that the line between safety and mortal danger can be crossed very easily in a split second. That line also moves, many times before we even realize it. As I rode home from work yesterday, with that day's tragic events weighing on my mind, I was reminded yet again about this fact.
My trip home is from Midtown Manhattan to Brooklyn (via Manhattan bridge). As I rode through a yellow light on a bike lane on 2nd avenue southbound to wait for the red light at Houston St. I heard someone yelling "cyclist! biker!" over my left shoulder. That person was a passenger in a 3 ton SUV yelling at the driver to not run me over. I realized this as I looked left to see said SUV rapidly turning into my path of travel. If not for that passenger, I might have wound up underneath the vehicle's right rear tire.
I had a flash of anger, but then just felt relief. This kind of thing has been happening too often for my liking, but I still ride. I didn't yell at anyone but simply shook my head as I rode around the SUV to get back into the bike lane. Afterward I realized that if I went through the yellow light, then this driver must have gone through the light when it turned red, then turned hard right to get into the right turn lane for Houston St.
As I'm sure most of you are aware, New York has been having a 'crackdown' on cyclists 'running' red lights. The fact remains thought that cyclists aren't killed when they go through a red light, especially when looking carefully first, they're killed when vehicles go through red lights, or speed, or turn without signaling or open a door into traffic without looking first. Sadly, most of the time, they're not held responsible either.
Be safe everyone.
@Jeff in PetroMetro
For certain. That said, and please don't take this as irreverence, it's probably the only stage in a grand tour ever that I could physically ride and keep up with as I read somewhere they'll be averaging 37-40 kph.
@Marko
No offense. Still, these guys look so comfortable at that pace. I'd have to not talk, stay focused, and hope I wouldn't bonk after a 100km. That seems to be my outside limit these days since I don't get in too many long rides.