Bjorg Lambrecht (2 April 1997 – 5 August 2019) was a Belgian cyclist who rode for

UCI WorldTeam A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road cycling, the UCI World Tour or UCI ProTour ...

. In August 2018, he was named in the startlist for the 2018 Vuelta a España. He died on 5 August 2019 after crashing into a concrete culvert during the third stage of the 2019 Tour de Pologne.

Early life and family

Lambrecht came from the Belgian town of

Knesselare Knesselare () is a village and ''deelgemeente'' in the municipality of Aalter and a former municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprised the towns of Knesselare proper and . The municipality's name is ...

, situated between

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

and

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

. He was born to Kurt and Anje Lambrecht and had a sister, Britt.

Career

In 2015, Lambrecht became the Belgian national junior champion, relegating Glen Van Nuffelen and Stijn Goolaerts to second and third places respectively. In 2016, he caused a surprise by winning the opening stage of the

Ronde de l'Isard The Ronde de l'Isard is a road bicycle race held annually in France. It is organized as a 2.2U event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union C ...

. In the final stage he was sent in the wrong direction by the race management. The race jury recognized the error and so Lambrecht became the third Belgian to win this race after Yannick Eijssen (2010) and Louis Vervaeke (2014). Just under two weeks after his final win in France, Lambrecht took part in the

Grand Prix Priessnitz spa Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and co ...

race with a Belgian selection. Here he managed to win the last leg, with a sloping finish on cobbles in

Jeseník Jeseník (; until 1947 Frývaldov (); german: Freiwaldau, pl, Frywałdów) is a spa town in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Bukovice and Dětřichov are administrative ...

, with a lead of a few seconds. At the beginning of 2017, he won

Liège–Bastogne–Liège U23 The U23 Liège–Bastogne–Liège or Liège–Bastogne–Liège Espoirs is a cycling race in Belgium, held eight days before the cycling classic, the Liège–Bastogne–Liège Liège–Bastogne–Liège, also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Ol ...

race by beating his three fellow poursuivants in the sprint. Later that year he was fifth in the

Flèche Ardennaise The Flèche Ardennaise is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in June in the province of Liège, Belgium. Since 2010, the race is organized as a 1.2 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle ...

race, second in the final classification of the Ronde de l'Isard, eighth in that of the Tour of the Jura, he won a stage and the final classification in the Grand Prix Priessnitz spa and became second in the final classifications of the

Tour de Savoie Mont-Blanc The Tour de Savoie Mont-Blanc was a multi-day cycling race held annually in the departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie in France between 1999 and 2021. It was held as part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road ...

, the

Giro della Valle d'Aosta Giro della Valle d'Aosta is a stage race road bicycle race held annually in August in Aosta Valley, Italy. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 2.2 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing c ...

and the

Tour de l'Avenir Tour de l'Avenir ( en, Tour of the Future) is a French road bicycle racing stage race, which started in 1961 as a race similar to the Tour de France and over much of the same course but for amateurs and for semi-professionals known as independents ...

2017. In 2018, Lambrecht turned professional with . In 2019, he recorded his biggest result as a professional, finishing fourth at the

Flèche Wallonne Flèche or Fleche may refer to: *Flèche (architecture), a type of church spire * Flèche (cycling), a team cycling competition *Flèche (fencing), an aggressive offensive fencing technique *Flèche (fortification) A flèche ( Fr. for "arrow") is ...

race. In April of the same year, he signed a two-year contract extension with .

Death

Lambrecht crashed into a concrete

culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdom ...

during stage three of the 2019 Tour de Pologne. The cause of the crash is unknown, no other riders appeared to have been involved. He was taken to hospital in

Rybnik Rybnik (Polish pronunciation: ; szl, Rybńik) is a city in southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, around 38 km (24 mi) southwest of Katowice, the region's capital, and around 19 km (11 miles) from the Czech border. It is on ...

by ambulance, but died during surgery. Out of respect for Lambrecht, the fourth stage of the race was neutralised, allowing riders to honour his memory. The remaining members of the Lotto-Soudal team led the

peloton In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning 'platoon') is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close ( drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The reductio ...

in the first part of the race until kilometre 48, where Lambrecht had crashed the previous day, at which point the peloton stopped and a moment of silence was held. On 7 August 2019, 's team doctor, Maarten Meirhaeghe, said in a press statement that Lambrecht's death was caused by "a severe laceration to his liver that caused an internal

hemorrhage Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethra, vag ...

and a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

". Lambrecht was buried on 13 August 2019 in

Saint Willibrord Willibrord (; 658 – 7 November AD 739) was an Anglo-Saxon missionary and saint, known as the "Apostle to the Frisians" in the modern Netherlands. He became the first bishop of Utrecht and died at Echternach, Luxembourg. Early life His fath ...

Church in his home town of Knesselare. Hundreds attended the service, including many former teammates, some of whom carried the coffin into the church. On 11 August, a

minute's silence A moment of silence (also referred to as a minute's silence or a one-minute silence) is a period of silent contemplation, prayer, reflection, or meditation. Similar to flying a flag at half-mast, a moment of silence is often a gesture of r ...

was held before the

2019 European Road Championships The 2019 European Road Cycling Championships was the 25th running of the European Road Cycling Championships, that took place from 7 to 11 August 2019 in Alkmaar, the Netherlands. The event consisted of a total of 6 road races and 7 time trials, ...

in honour of Lambrecht. On 25 August, another minute's silence was held before Stage 2 of the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the r ...

, the first

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...

that Lambrecht would have competed in.

Major results

The following are some of the major achievements of Lambrecht. ;2015 : 1st MaillotBélgica

Road race, National Junior Road Championships : Driedaagse van Axel ::1st Jersey polkadot

Mountains classification ::1st Stage 4 : 2nd Overall Oberösterreich Juniorenrundfahrt ::1st Jersey polkadot

Mountains classification : 3rd Overall GP Général Patton ::1st Jersey polkadot

Mountains classification : 3rd Overall Aubel–Thimister–La Gleize : 3rd Trofeo Emilio Paganessi : 3rd La Philippe Gilbert Juniors : 4th Overall Trofeo Karlsberg ;2016 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st

Points classification ::1st Jersey white

Young rider classification ::1st Jersey polkadot

Mountains classification ::1st Stage 1 : 2nd Silver medal europe

Road race, UEC European Under-23 Road Championships : 3rd

Piccolo Giro di Lombardia The Piccolo Giro di Lombardia is a one-day cycling race held annually in Lombardy, Italy. It is part of UCI Europe Tour in category 1.2U, meaning it is reserved for under 23 riders. The race acts as the U23 counterpart to the Giro di Lombardia T ...

: 4th

: 4th Overall Course de la Paix U23 ::1st Stage 3 : 10th Overall

Tour de Savoie Mont Blanc The Tour de Savoie Mont-Blanc was a multi-day cycling race held annually in the departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie in France between 1999 and 2021. It was held as part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road ...

: 10th Overall

;2017 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stage 2 : 1st Liège-Bastogne-Liège Espoirs : 2nd Overall

::1st

Points classification : 2nd Overall

::1st Stage 3 : 2nd Overall

: 2nd Overall

: 5th

: 8th Overall

Tour du Jura The Tour du Jura is a one-day cycling race held annually in Switzerland. It is part of UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationa ...

::1st

Young rider classification : 10th Overall Circuit des Ardennes ;2018 : 2nd Silver medal blank

Road race, UCI Road World Under-23 Championships : 2nd Overall

Tour des Fjords Tour des Fjords (known as the Rogaland Grand Prix until 2012) was a road bicycle race held annually between 2008 and 2018 in the region of western Norway. The race merged with the Tour of Norway The Tour of Norway is a road bicycle race held an ...

::1st

Young rider classification ::1st Stage 3 ;2019 : 1st Jersey white

Young rider classification,

Critérium du Dauphiné The Critérium du Dauphiné, before 2010 known as the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, is an annual cycling road race in the Dauphiné region in the southeast of France. The race is run over eight days during the first half of June. It is part ...

: 4th

La Flèche Wallonne La Flèche Wallonne (, French for "The Walloon Arrow") is a men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Wallonia, Belgium. The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is today normally held mid-week betw ...

: 5th

Brabantse Pijl The Brabantse Pijl ( en, Brabant Arrow, french: italic=yes, Flèche Brabançonne or ''Flèche Branconne'') is a Flanders Classics road bicycle race held annually in Flemish Brabant and in Walloon Brabant, Belgium. Since 2005, the race has been or ...

: 6th

Amstel Gold Race The Amstel Gold Race is an annual one-day classic road cycling race held in the province of Limburg, Netherlands. It traditionally marks the turning point of the spring classics, with the climbers and stage racers replacing the cobbled classics r ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambrecht, Bjorg 1997 births 2019 deaths Belgian male cyclists Sportspeople from Ghent Cyclists from East Flanders Cyclists who died while racing Sport deaths in Poland