'He absolutely loved the sport. We will miss him'

Roubaix Lille Metropole manager Daniel Verbrackel described how the death of Daan Myngheer has affected the small UCI Continental team, saying it is a "little unreal".

Myngheer passed away on Monday after suffering a heart attack during stage one of the Criterium International in Corsica. He was put into an induced coma at a hospital in Ajaccio but did not recover.

As a third tier team, Roubaix Lille Metropole only count 10 riders on their roster. The family feel of the squad means Myngheer's death has hit the riders particularly hard.

"It's a little unreal, what happened to Daan," he said, quoted on Het Nieuwsblad.

"Although he had only been with the team for five months, it seemed as if he had been here much longer. He was a boy who quickly adapted, was very good in the team and he formed a friendship with the other three Belgians: Dieter Bouvry, Maxime Vantomme and Louis Verhelst.

"A really happy boy, grateful too. It is typical of him that he will donate his organs to save other lives. He would have liked that.

"This loss hits us hard. Such a small team like ours, since you live close to each other, like a family. Daan absolutely loved the sport. We will miss him."

>>> ‘Another young champ is gone’, cycling mourns the death of Daan Myngheer

Verbrackel revealed that he has allowed the riders to return to Roubaix to come to terms with Myngheer's death. He also said the team would probably forfeit their two upcoming Nations Cup races, although the final decision lays with the riders.