The death of Ivan Melendez Luque at the Vuelta Junior brings new mourning to cycling

The fatal accident occurred in the middle of the main stage, between Langa de Duero and Laguna Negra (Castile and Leon, 117.8 km), of this junior Vuelta, scheduled to run until Sunday over three stages only and coinciding with the start of the senior competition. According to Spanish radio Cadena Ser, around twenty riders were caught in this serious crash and 18 were hospitalized in Soria, three of them in serious condition, including Ivan Melendez Luque. The hospital announced in the evening that the young cyclist from the Tenerife team had died. The condition of the other two seriously injured riders is not yet known.

While the second stage was initially interrupted, the organizers announced in the evening that the race was definitively stopped. "The Vuelta Ribera [the official name of this junior Vuelta, editor's note] is suspending all its activities following the death of a rider. We send all our thoughts and support to the rider's family and friends," they announced on their X account.

Before the minute of silence observed at the Vuelta, a tribute was paid Sunday morning in Aranda del Duero, in the province of Burgos. The International Cycling Union (UCI) and its president David Lappartient expressed their "deep sadness" and offered their condolences to "the entire cycling family" following this death.

As crashes in the peloton become more frequent and violent as speeds increase , another young rider died after a fall this summer, 19-year-old Italian Samuele Privitera, who was competing in the Tour of Valle d'Aosta in Italy. Last year, Norwegian André Drege died on a mountain descent at the Tour of Austria, and young Swiss rider Muriel Furrer died after a crash during the U21 road race at the world championships in Zurich.