(UTV|COLOMBO) – Michael Goolaerts, who died on Sunday, suffered cardiac arrest while riding, causing his crash at Paris-Roubaix, the BBC Sport reported.
The Veranda’s Willems-Crelan rider, 23, was found unconscious and not breathing after falling on a cobbled section of the one-day classic.
The Belgian was airlifted to hospital in Lille but died at 21:40 BST.
“He suffered an attack while racing. His heart stopped, and that’s why he crashed,” said Cambrai state prosecutor Remi Schwartz, following an autopsy.
Schwartz said experts will carry out toxicology and pathological exams to determine the cause of the cardiac arrest, although the results may not be known for several weeks.
Goolaerts crashed on the second of 29 cobbled sections in Paris-Roubaix, 109km into a 257km race regarded as one of the toughest and most prestigious in cycling.
[alert color=”faebcc” icon=”fa-commenting”]Keeping up to date with breaking news while you are on the move is now simple with UTV Alerts [textmarker color=”8a6d3b”]Type REG UTV and send to 77000[/textmarker] on your Dialog or Hutch mobile connection[/alert]
