The Tour de Pologne on Tuesday carried out its daylong tribute to Bjorg Lambrecht (Lotto Soudal), who died on Monday afternoon after a crash during stage 3, with his teammates crossing the stage 4 finish line in Kocierz ahead of the rest of the field.
A finishing arch, made entirely of black and bearing Lambrecht's name and Pologne race number 143, was erected at the top of a long wooded climb deep in the countryside of southern Poland.
Ahead of the peloton, the six Lotto Soudal riders rode to within 50 metres of the finish, then dismounted and stood, arms round each other in a long line across the narrow hill road for another minute's silence.
ADVERTISEMENT
Then, to scattered applause from the dozens of fans waiting at the summit, the six remounted and headed through the finish area to the privacy of the Lotto Soudal team bus, situated a few metres further on at the top of the climb.
"This homage was something we had to do today," race organiser Czeslaw Lang told reporters afterwards. "The public came here, too, to pay their respects."
Lang also confirmed that stage 5 of the Tour de Pologne will proceed as normal, but he suggested that Pologne's usually high-octane and noisy post-stage ceremonies could be toned down in continuing respect for cycling's loss.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/lotto-soudal-ride-in-tribute-to-bjorg-lambrecht-at-tour-de-pologne
No comments:
Post a Comment