Final farewell for crash victim Lambrecht

KNESSELARE, Belgium: Relatives, teammates and hundreds of cycling fans gathered at the church of Saint Willibrordus in Knesselare on Tuesday for the funeral of young Belgian cyclist Bjorg Lambrecht who died during last week’s Tour of Poland.

The 22-year-old crashed on the third stage of the race after losing control of his bike and colliding with a concrete bridge over a ditch. He died as a result of his injuries. The cycling world was led at the funeral by Lambrecht’s Lotto-Soudal teammates and team manager Marc Sergeant. German sprinter Andre Greipel was also present.

A giant screen on the wall of the church showed black and white photos of Lambrecht and a Lotto cycling jersey was placed on the coffin. Lambrecht was one of Belgium’s great cycling hopes. He won the Under 23 Liege-Bastogne-Liege and finished second in the Tour de l’Avenir in 2017 behind this year’s Tour de France winner Egan Bernal before turning professional last year with Lotto-Soudal.