Bjorg Lambrecht dies after crash at Tour of Poland 2019

Lotto-Soudal have confirmed that the 22-year-old has passed away

(Image credit: Yuzuru SUNADA)

Bjorg Lambrecht has died after a crash at the Tour of Poland 2019.

Lotto-Soudal announced that the 22-year-old Belgian had died after a fall during stage three of the week-long race.

Lambrecht was involved in a crash and race organisers said he had been resuscitated before being rushed to hospital.

Update: Riders and teams pay tribute to Bjorg Lambrecht 

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Shortly after the finish of the stage, Belgian WorldTour team Lotto confirmed the news.

The team said: "The biggest tragedy possible that could happen to family, friends and team-mates of Bjorg has happened.

"Rest in peace Bjorg."

News of Lambrecht's crash emerged in the final 100km of stage three, with the official Tour of Poland Twitter account releasing a statement that said he was on his way to hospital after hitting a culvert in a fall and that he had undergone "emergency reanimation."

An initial statement from the Tour of Poland organisers said: “We’re very sad to report a serious crash for Bjorg Lambrecht of Lotto-Soudal who needed helicopter transport to a hospital following emergency reanimation.

“We’ll report when we know more, but we hope it’s nothing too serious and are wishing fast recovery.”

The race organisers later said: “According to unofficial information, doctors managed to bring life functions back to Bjorg Lambrecht (Lotto-Soudal), but his condition didn’t allow for transportation by helicopter. He was taken to hospital by ambulance.”

Lotto-Soudal also confirmed he was on his way to hospital after the crash, before confirming at around 6pm on Monday (August 5) that Lambrecht had died.

Lambrecht was riding his second season at WorldTour level and has been one of the great Belgian hopes.

He  finished second in the under-23 World Championships last year and went on to ride to 12th in the Critérium du Dauphiné, taking the youth classification in the process.

Lambrecht also finished fifth in Brabantse Pijl earlier this year, following up with sixth in Amstel Gold Race and fourth in Flèche Wallone.

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Alex Ballinger

Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers.  Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.