Michael Goolaerts (; 24 July 1994 – 8 April 2018) was a Belgian cyclist who rode for . During the

2018 Paris–Roubaix The 2018 Paris–Roubaix was a road cycling one-day race that took place on 8 April 2018 in France. It was the 116th edition of the Paris–Roubaix and the fifteenth event of the 2018 UCI World Tour. For the first time since Bernard Hinault in ...

, Goolaerts suffered

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 ...

. He was airlifted to a hospital in

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

, where he died hours later.

Biography

Goolaerts was born in Lier and grew up in Hallaar,

Heist-op-den-Berg Heist-op-den-Berg () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises Heist-op-den-Berg proper (including the hamlets: Heist-Goor, Heist-Station, Zonderschot, Heist-Centrum and Bruggeneinde), the villages of ...

, where he became a member of the Balen Bicycle Club. He won the provincial individual time trial championship title of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

in the newcomers category in 2010. He also won the individual time trial championship title in the juniors category in 2011. In 2012, he was part of the teams that won Belgian national junior championship titles in the

team pursuit The team pursuit is a track cycling event similar to the individual pursuit, except that two teams, each of up to four riders, compete, starting on opposite sides of the velodrome. Race format Both men's and women's events are competed over ...

and the

team sprint The team sprint (also sometimes known as the Olympic sprint) is a track cycling event. Despite its name, it is not a conventional cycling sprint event – it is a three-rider team time trial held over three laps of a velodrome. The current men's ...

. That year he also finished eighth in the junior version of the

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders ( nl, Ronde van Vlaanderen), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road cycling race held in Belgium every spring. The most important cycling race in Flanders, it is part of the UCI World Tour and organi ...

. He joined the Verandas Willems team as a stagiaire in the second half of 2013, and went on to secure a full-time contract with the team the following year. In 2015 he joined Lotto-Soudal's development team. Goolaerts joined as a ''

stagiaire Stagiaire may refer to: * Stage (cooking) or stagiaire, a cook who works briefly, for free, in another chef's kitchen * Stagiaire (cycling), an amateur cyclist temporarily riding for a professional team * A particular type of trainee, see Europea ...

'', starting on 1 August 2016, before rejoining the now

UCI Professional Continental The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to expand cycling around the world. The five circuits (representing the continents of Africa, the ...

team for the 2017 season. He made his debut in the

Étoile de Bessèges The Étoile de Bessèges () is an early-season five-day road bicycle racing stage race held annually around Bessèges, in the Gard department of the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. First organized in 1971 as a one-day race, it became a sta ...

, and had a top-10 position in the GP Briek Schotte. That year he also made the early breakaways in the

, where he remained in the front group for over 200 km,

Halle–Ingooigem Halle–Ingooigem is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in June in West Flanders, Belgium. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competit ...

, where his performance earned the praise of

Tom Boonen Tom Boonen (; born 15 October 1980) is a Belgian former road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 2002 and 2017 for the and teams and a professional racing driver who currently competes in Belcar, having previously competed in ...

, and Paris-Tours. At the start of the 2018 season he placed ninth in

Dwars door West–Vlaanderen Dwars door West-Vlaanderen is a road bicycle race through the Belgian province of West Flanders. History The race was originally created unter the name Omloop der Vlaamse Ardennen (''English'': Tour of the Flemish Ardennes) in 1945 as a one-day ...

. On 8 April 2018, Goolaerts started in his first Paris–Roubaix. On the second cobbled sector, at

Briastre Briastre () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry Economics In Briastre is a chemistry-factory. In the near of Briastre are agriculture farms. The Lamour Watermill The Lamour Watermill, Briastre ...

, after 109 km of racing, he suffered cardiorespiratory arrest and lay unresponsive on the ground. He was resuscitated by paramedics and transferred by helicopter to CHRU-Hospital in

. He died later that evening. An autopsy concluded that he had suffered a cardiac arrest before he fell from his bike. In May 2018 it was announced that the cobbled section where he crashed would be renamed the "Secteur Pavé Michael Goolaerts" in his honour, and that his family would be invited to unveil a monument at the site of his fall the following month.

Major results

''As of April 2018'' ;2012 : 1st MaillotBélgica

Team sprint, National Junior Track Championships : 8th Junior Tour of Flanders ;2015 : 4th

Paris–Chauny Paris–Chauny is a one-day cycling race held in France. It was first held in 1922 and has been part of the UCI Europe Tour in category 1.2 The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world's governing body in the sport of bicycle racing, class ...

;2016 : 1st Stage 1

Tour du Loir-et-Cher The Tour du Loir-et-Cher is a cycling stage race that takes place in the Loir-et-Cher region of France. The race traditionally starts and finishes in the capital of Blois. Since at least 2009, the final stage has consisted of a 12-lap circuit ra ...

: 9th

Nationale Sluitingprijs Nationale Sluitingprijs is a semi classic European bicycle race held annually in Putte (Kapellen), Belgium. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racin ...

;2018 : 9th

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goolaerts, Michael 1994 births 2018 deaths Belgian male cyclists Cyclists who died while racing Filmed deaths in sports People from Lier, Belgium Sport deaths in France Cyclists from Antwerp Province

Biography

Major results

See also

References

External links