Italian Bicyclist Dies at 19 After Striking Speed Bump Throughout
REQUIREMENT TO KNOW An Italian cyclist died during the first leg of the Giro della Valle d’Aosta race in northwest Italy on Wednesday, July
A 19-year-old Italian cyclist died after hitting a speed bump throughout the Giro della Valle d’Aosta in northwest Italy, triggering him to lose control of his bike, crash, and struck his head.
Samuele Privitera, the bicyclist, was taken to a close-by health center in Aosta where he was later pronounced dead on Wednesday, July 16, according to the Italian Cycling Federation (FCI).
The FCI stated in a statement Thursday that the “situations of the mishap,” which took place during the downhill stretch 32 kilometers from the finish line, “are still unclear.”
“Samuele was and constantly will be the life and personality of this team,” the cyclist’s group, Hagens Berman Jayco, composed in a post on Instagram announcing his death. “This group has actually constantly been a small family, and moments like this are inconceivable. He was irreplaceable. His happiness, his spirit, his generosity, was constantly a brilliant light to whatever space or race that he was in at that minute. To lose him is devastating beyond words.”
Privitera’s team said the 2nd stage of the race had actually been canceled for Thursday in Passy, Italy, and will rather resume Friday. “This will be preceded by a moment of remembrance, and the preliminary section of the phase will be neutralized in memory of Samuele,” the cycling team announced through the FCI. “All formal events are canceled till completion of the occasion.”
Samuele Privitera.
Dario Belingheri/Getty
Privitera was in his second year racing with Hagens Berman Jayco. The Soldano, Italy native was also remembered by his management agency in another psychological homage on Instagram.
“Samu, wherever you were, there was light,” TEAMVISION Biking, the management firm, stated in its post. “And anywhere you are now, your liveliness will continue to brighten every space. You touched numerous lives– with your spirit, your energy, your smile. You will remain forever in our hearts.”
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Meanwhile, the FCI memorialized Privitera as “a generous professional athlete and a great climber.”
FCI President Cordiano Dagnoni also shared a statement expressing “his deepest compassion to Samuele Privitera’s family” after the news of his death while promising to improve riders’ safety in future races.
“This news leaves us stunned and requires us to believe a lot more decisively about how to make our races safer,” Dagnoni said. “The Federation established a commission some time ago to develop propositions on this matter, and we continuously update the guidelines every year to guarantee such occurrences never ever occur once again. We should intensify our efforts in this instructions: it is an obligation we owe most importantly to our youths, to our clubs, and to our entire movement.”
Riders in the Trip de France also held a homage to Privitera Thursday, before beginning the day’s stage, The Associated Press reported.