Italian cyclist Samuele Privitera, 19, died following a crash during the opening stage of the Giro della Valle d’Aosta, his team Hagens Berman Jayco confirmed late on Wednesday.
Privitera crashed during a descent, losing his helmet and colliding with a gate, Italian media reported. He was transported to hospital but succumbed to his injuries.
Authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash.
‘Samuele was and always will be the life and personality of this team. This team has always been a small family, and moments like this are unimaginable,’ Axel Merckx, owner of Hagens Berman Jayco, said in a statement.
The second stage of the race, which takes place in northern Italy’s Aosta Valley near the French border, has been cancelled.
The Giro della Valle d’Aosta is the largest under-23 race in Italy, following the Giro Next Gen, held annually in August in the Aosta Valley.
‘The stage goes to him and his family. It’s the first thing I read in the morning,’ Tour de France overall leader Tadej Pogacar said after winning the race’s 12th stage on Thursday.
‘I was thinking of him in the last kilometre.’
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