It was during the first joint start stage in the junior race Oberösterreich around that the accident occurred. In a short descent, Venzo drove off the road, which led to the stage being first stopped and later cancelled. On Saturday morning, the news that Venzo had died came in an update from his own team, Campana Imballagi Geo&Tex Trentino. – Jacopo was an extraordinary boy, with a bright future in sport and especially in life. That’s why it hurts extra, they write. – There are no words to describe this tragedy, writes the European Cycling Federation on Twitter. A total of 24 teams took part in the race, which was originally supposed to end on Sunday, but has now been cancelled. Among them was a Norwegian team from NTG, with six riders from the cycling clubs in Asker and Ringerike. – It has been painful for the cyclists. We have had a crisis team from the municipality here who have briefed me and we have had a memorial service for the riders and for the team he was part of. We had a short joint session where we talked about it, says team leader Kristian Gullhav to news. NORWEGIAN TEAM: The Norwegian six-man team before the race in Austria. The team consisted of Christian Alexander Klund, Theodor Stokke-Fagervold, Simen Dreyer Heldahl, Thomas Eriksen, Ulrik Bjune and Kristoffer Gulhav. Photo: Privat Experienced deaths in 2019 The death comes just over a month after professional cyclist Gino Mäder died after a fall in a downhill run during the Tour of Switzerland. For several of the Norwegian junior cyclists, the death also comes a few years after they took part in the Danish Tour de Himmelfart in 2019. There, a Danish 18-year-old died after an accident with an oncoming car. – These riders have also experienced the fatal accident that was in 2019. We have talked a bit about it and the municipality set up a crisis team that has been around all the places and talked to all those who want a chat, says Gullhav on the phone from Austria. In addition to being team manager, Gullhav’s 17-year-old son, Kristoffer, is also part of the Norwegian six-man team in Austria. – It certainly makes one think that we are involved in a risky sport, says Gullhav, who explains that the Norwegian riders registered a speed of up to 95 kilometers per hour at the bottom of the downhill run in question. – You think you can die 18-year-old Thomas Eriksen also cycled for the Norwegian NTG team in Austria. The Asker cyclist says that he found the course on Friday’s stage to be safe, but says about the death in Austria and in other races in recent years: – Of course, you think that you could actually die from doing this. It’s a bit strange to think about. It doesn’t happen very often, but it does happen. We have seen that. – There are a lot of sad faces around. You notice that it is not as normal, he says further. This year’s edition of the Austrian race was the 48th in history. Among the previous winners are, among others, cycling profiles such as Philippe Gilbert and Matej Mohoric. Mohoric won the 19th stage of this year’s Tour de France on Friday. The organizer writes in an update on its own website that Italian Venzo was alone when the accident occurred and that he received first aid just seconds after the accident. He was later flown to the hospital in Linz by helicopter, but his life could not be saved.
ttn-69
Norwegian junior riders experienced deaths for the second time in four years – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
