‘With tears in eyes and devastated hearts’, team pays tribute to 17-year-old cycling hopeful who died in race in Austria

“There are no words to describe this tragedy”, said the UEC on its Twitter account. While the Tour de France is in full swing and Tadej Pogacar won the last mountain stage of the big loop, winning at Markstein Fellering ahead of Felix Gall and the yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard, before arriving on the Champs-Elysées this Sunday July 23, 2023, a tragedy has just unfolded in Austria, during the Junioren Rundfahrt. A 17-year-old Italian boy named Jacopo Venzo fell seriously this Friday, July 21 during the first stage between Haid and Marchtrenk, in the descent of Mistelbacher Berg. The next day, this Saturday July 22, the Austrian press agency (APA) confirmed that this runner from the Campana Imballaggi Geo&Tex Trentino formation, succumbed to his injuries that night. Bringing together more than 140 runners, the event reserved for juniors, which was to end this Sunday, has been canceled.

A 17-year old italian cyclist Jacopo Venzo passed away following a crash on stage 1 of 48° Junioren Rundfahrt (Austria). There are no words to describe this tragedy. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, team, race organizers and the whole cycling community.

—UEC_cycling (@UEC_cycling) July 22, 2023

“It is with tears in our eyes and broken hearts that we announce that our junior Jacopo Venzo left us”reads the press release from the Campana Imballaggi Geo & Tex Trentino team. “Jacopo was an extraordinary boy, with a future to write in sport and especially in life, and that hurts even more. The whole team is hugging his family, his friends and all those who loved Jacopo at this moment of immense sadness”continues the message.

Black series in cycling, this “dangerous sport” according to Thibaut Pinot

This death follows that, five weeks earlier, of runner Gino Mäder, 26, member of the Bahrain-Victorious professional team, following a fall in a descent of the 5^e stage of the Tour of Switzerland. Questioned by AFP, the French cyclist Thibaut Pinot returned to this tragedy:“I learned it during training in La Clusaz. It was very complicated to finish, I was stunned. Gino was a rider who, like me, liked to hang out at the back of the peloton and we often found ourselves talking. I loved him so much. I had escaped with him on the last stage of the Vuelta. We were both together. It’s dramatic“he explained and added “I am a runner who takes a little less risk than the others because I am really aware of the danger. It is often said that you have to unplug the brain in the bike. I really struggle with this idea. We practice a dangerous sport“, he concluded, lucid. A dark sporting period…

VF