Again, a young cyclist dies after a cardiac arrest, fought Doctors: Four weeks to the life of Robbert de Greef, now his Team reported the tragic death of the Dutchman.
Robbert De Greef in his last major success, the second place at the Ronde van Drenthe
The race was just 15 kilometers to the old, as it was for Robbert de Greef a sudden end. On the first cobbled section of the Dutch race, Omloop van de Braakman 1. April de Greef collapsed. Previously, he had complained according to Reports, about discomfort. Paramedics treated the Dutchman the edge of the road, then the Doctors decided to bring him to a hospital in nearby Antwerp, Belgium. During the race out of respect in front of the emergency has been cancelled, fought the Doctors to the life of the professional cyclists.
Hours de Greef has been resuscitated, as his Team announced Alecto later. Then the Doctors, de Greef decided in an artificial coma to allow. The hope was to stabilize his condition. In the end even that did not help: “Unfortunately, we confirm with great sorrow that Robbert last night from complications after his heart is still died,” wrote his Team on Friday on its website. “Thank you for everything, Robbert, we will never forget you!”
The 27-year-old De Greef was able to demonstrate with a rank of two at the Ronde van Drenthe this spring, a strong result, although he was only a third-rate Team – a real Surprise in the scene. In the Winter, he moved from the Dutch second major Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij to the third major Alecto. Also, his old Team condolences: “We are deeply concerned, after we have learned of the death of our former team-mate de Greef Robbert. Our thoughts are with his family and his relatives,” wrote the Roompot Team on Twitter. There is also the Dutch Top Sprinter Dylan Groenewegen farewell: “Bad news. Rest in peace Robert de Greef.”
Once again the Cycling family to share in the death of one of their drivers. And once again, it is a sudden death of an otherwise healthy, young athletes. A year ago died, Michael Goolaerts at the age of only 23 years at the Paris-Roubaix classic. Also on a cobbled part of the Belgian fell to the brakes without the wheel. He was hastily taken to a hospital, died on the same day.A similar fate Goolaerts compatriot Daan Myngheer 2016 befell. The 22-Year-old was suffered at the Critérium International in Corsica, a cardiac arrest and died shortly thereafter in a hospital in Ajaccio. He, too, had complained during the race about uncomfortable. The professionals Tim Pauwels (Belgium) and Alessio Galetti (Italy) died in the past as a result of a sudden Cardiac arrest during the competition, more professionals were killed by heart attacks in Training or after the end of their career.
In addition to a number of deaths due to falls and accidents, heart problems are, therefore, always a risk factor for cyclists. Hans-Georg Predel, circulation,-the expert of the German sport University in Cologne, emphasized 2018 in a DW interview that the Sport could do more for health prevention: “Annual squad athletes checks, how they are carried out in Germany, for example, can exclude such cases.” But these will not be implemented in all countries and sports in the same way. The question of whether the deaths are due to heart attacks in Cycling with drugs of abuse, can not be answered based on current knowledge.