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Bjarne Vanacker

http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/l...bjarne-vanacker-found-dead-dying-sleep-357765
Promising Belgian amateur rider Bjarne Vanacker has been found dead at his home in Torhout after apparently dying in his sleep last night.

The 20-year-old rider from the EFC-L&R-Vulsteke team – a development team for Trek-Segafredo – died overnight, with the cause of death yet to be confirmed and team manager Michel Pollentier saying that medical tests had never detected any underlying health conditions in Vanacker.
...
Despite only turning 20 in May, Vanacker, a strong all-rounder, had achieved a string of impressive results at under-23 level.

Among his best results was 10th in the U23 Paris-Roubaix in the spring and 15th in the Piccolo Giro di Lombardia at the end fo the year. His final victory came a kermesse in Nieuwpoort in June, where he led home a 1-2-3-4 for his EFC-L&R-Vulsteke team.

He also showed promise in stage races, finishing just outside the top 20 in the general classification of two prestigious U23 stage races: the Giro della Valle d’Aosta Mont Blanc and the Triptyque des Monts et Chateaux.

Vanacker’s most recent race had been the under-23 edition of Paris-Tours, where he finished in 44th place.
Condolences to family and friends.
 
I don't want to be indecent and do realise it's another tragedy for Belgian cycling :( but it did strike me reading that article that Michel Pollentier was still active in the sport. Perhaps because I've recently watched the Belga Sport show about him on Canvas and it did seem that he was still in a relatively good shape for his age and still running his family's tyre shop. :)
 

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