Michael Goolaerts was racing Paris-Roubaix for the first time

Belgian cyclist Michael Goolaerts has died aged 23 after a crash in Paris-Roubaix.

The Veranda's Willems-Crelan rider fell on the second set of cobbles in the one-day classic in northern France.

He suffered cardiac arrest and was airlifted to hospital in Lille but died at 21:40 BST on Sunday.

"It is with unimaginable sadness that we have to communicate the passing of our rider and friend Michael Goolaerts," read a team statement.

The team said Goolaerts died "in the presence of his family members and loved ones, who we keep in our thoughts".

The statement added: "For now there will be no further communication as we want to give his close ones time to deal with this terrible loss."

Goolaerts crashed 109km into the 257km race and was found unconscious by race doctors. Television footage appeared to show him receiving CPR treatment from medics at the side of the road.

David Lappartient, president of cycling's world governing body the UCI, said: "On behalf of the UCI and the cycling family as a whole, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the family, team and loved ones of Michael Goolaerts, who left too early.

"We share their immense sadness."

Goolaerts was in his fourth season - in two spells - with Belgian outfit Veranda's Willems-Crelan.

He spent 2013 and 2014 with them at the continental level, and returned in 2017 after a season as a trainee with Belgian World Tour team Lotto-Soudal, when he won the opening stage of the 2016 Tour du Loir-et-Cher on the UCI Europe Tour.

He rode several of the cobbled classics and semi-classics this season, finishing ninth at Dwars door West-Vlaanderen and 20th at both Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and Driedaagse De Panne.

Goolaerts was riding his first senior Paris-Roubaix, having competed in the under-23 edition in 2015.

Paris-Roubaix, which is known as the 'Hell of the North', is regarded as one of the toughest races in cycling, featuring 29 cobbled sections.

It is one of the five 'monuments', the most prestigious one-day races.

World champion Peter Sagan won the 2018 edition in a sprint finish with Silvan Dillier.

Goolaerts finished 16th in the Sharjah Tour in January

Tributes from the cycling world

Team Sky: "Everyone at Team Sky is heartbroken by the loss of Michael Goolaerts. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and all at Veranda's Willems-Crelan."

Team Lotto-Soudal: "Devastating news. Our most sincere condolences to the family, friends and team of Michael Goolaerts."

Three-time Paris-Roubaix winner Fabian Cancellara: "Terrible news. RIP Michael Goolaerts. My deep condolences go to his family, friends, team-mate and the Veranda's Willems-Crelan crew."

Two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador: "My deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Michael Goolaerts, since the end of the race I have not stopped thinking about him."

Paris-Roubaix 2018 winner Peter Sagan: "All the thoughts and prayers of the Bora-Hansgrohe team and myself are with Michael Goolaerts. Such a sad news."

Quick-Step Floors: "Our thoughts go to the family, friends and team of Michael Goolaerts in these unimaginable moments of sadness. May he rest in peace."</s>ROUBAIX, France — Belgian rider Michael Goolaerts died of cardiac arrest after collapsing while competing in the Paris-Roubaix race on Sunday.

Goolaerts' team said the 23-year-old died in a Lille hospital where he had been taken by helicopter from the one-day classic.

"It is with unimaginable sadness that we have to communicate the passing of our rider and friend Michael Goolaerts," his team, Veranda's Willems-Crelan, said in a statement.

The team said Goolaerts died "in the presence of his family members and loved ones, who we keep in our thoughts." It added that he "died of cardiac arrest, all medical assistance was to no avail."

Goolaerts had been airlifted to hospital after collapsing about 150 kilometers (93 miles) from the finish. No images of the incident itself were available but TV footage of the race showed Goolaerts lying unresponsive on the side of the road as the peloton passed him. He was then attended by a medical team and appeared to receive CPR.

Goolaerts rode in support of cyclo-cross world champion Wout van Aert of Belgium. His most significant result this season was 20th at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.

Peter Sagan won the race ahead of Silvan Dillier of Switzerland.

Goolaerts' death came two years after Belgian cyclist Daan Myngheer died following a heart attack during the Criterium International race in Corsica.

Another Belgian cyclist, Antoine Demoitie, died the same year following a crash in the Gent-Wevelgem race.</s>Belgian cyclist Michael Goolaerts died in hospital on Sunday at the age of 23, hours after suffering heart failure during the gruelling Paris-Roubaix one-day classic race in France.

"It is with unimaginable sadness that we have to communicate the passing of our rider and friend Michael Goolaerts," the rider's Veranda's Willems team said in a statement on Twitter.

They revealed he died late Sunday in a hospital in the northern French city of Lille, surrounded by his family.

"He died of cardiac arrest, all medical assistance was to no avail," the team said.

The Belgian -- competing in the one-day classic for the first time -- had been airlifted to hospital after being found unconscious and not breathing by race doctors at the side of the road on one of the race's famed cobbled sectors, about 100 kilometres into the 257km course.

Television images showed Goolaerts on the ground, his arms crossed, with no other rider beside him.

"For now there will be no further communication as we want to give his close ones time to deal with this terrible loss," added Veranda's Willems in their statement.

The race is known as the "Hell of the North" because a large part of the course is made up of cobbles and the riders have to contend with muddy conditions.

Goolaerts became a professional rider in 2014 aged just 20, and had taken part in 20 days of racing in 2018, including starting the Tour of Flanders last week, although he did not finish that race.

David Lappartient, president of the sport's governing body the UCI, said on Twitter: "On behalf of the Union Cycliste Internationale and the cycling family as a whole, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the family, team and friends of Michael Goolaerts, who left us too early today. We share their immense sadness."

Just two years ago, another young Belgian rider, 22-year-old Daan Myngheer, died in hospital two days after suffering a heart attack on the Criterium International in Corsica.

In 2011, Belgium's Wouter Weylandt died in a crash during the third stage of the Giro d'Italia.

Sunday's tragedy completely overshadowed the race itself, won by Slovakia's three-time world champion Peter Sagan.

Sagan outsprinted Swiss champion Silvan Dillier, the last survivor from an earlier break, in the iconic outdoor velodrome in Roubaix after 5hrs 54mins 06sec in the saddle, to win the race.

Sagan paid tribute to Goolaerts' on Twitter, writing: "All the thoughts and prayers of the @BORAhansgrohe team and myself are with Michael Goolaerts. Such a sad news...".

Last week's Tour of Flanders winner, Niki Terpstra, was third at 57sec and 2017 champion Greg Van Avermaet fourth at 1:34.</s>A Belgian cyclist died Sunday after he collapsed while riding in the difficult one-day Paris-Roubaix race in northern France.

Michael Goolaerts, a 23-year-old cyclist with Veranda’s Willems-Crelan team, was airlifted to a hospital in Lille, France, near the Belgian border, where he died “of cardiac arrest,” the team said in a statement, adding that he was “in the presence of his family members and loved ones.” Goolaerts was a little less than halfway through the 257-kilometer race when he was found unconscious and not breathing at the side of the road on one of the race’s iconic cobbled sections. TV images showed him on the ground with his arms crossed and no other riders nearby, according to France24. Video appeared to show him receiving CPR from medics at the scene, according to the BBC.

The team planned “no further communication as we want to give his close ones time to deal with this terrible loss.”

The race, often called the “Hell of the North,” goes from north of Paris to Roubaix and consists of 29 cobbled sections. It covers rugged and often muddy terrain, with cyclists using special bike frames and tires because flats and mechanical problems often occur.

Goolaerts, who was in his fourth season with Veranda’s Willems-Crelan, spent 2013 and 2014 with them at the continental level, and returned in 2017 after a season as a trainee with Belgian World Tour team Lotto-Soudal. That year, he won the opening stage of the 2016 Tour du Loir-et-Cher on the UCI Europe Tour. He rode several of the cobbled classics and semi-classics this season. He was riding in his first Paris-Roubaix race for senior competitors after riding in the under-23 version three years ago

David Lappartient, president of cycling’s world governing body the UCI, said in a statement: “On behalf of the UCI and the cycling family as a whole, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the family, team and loved ones of Michael Goolaerts, who left too early. We share their immense sadness.”

The 160-mile race continued with Slovakia’s three-time world champion Peter Sagan winning, and a cycling official later defended the decision not to stop the event.

“Unfortunately, there have been a lot of heavy falls in the past and will continue to be in the future,” UCI commissaire Philippe Marien, who was not at the race, told Cycling Weekly. “In these times, however, media such as Twitter quickly gives news or opinions, even if they are not always well founded. The criticism that the race went on, I find this rather cheap because everyone remained in the dark about the fate of Michael until 23:30. . . .

“Stopping the race as you can stop a football match with one whistle is not that simple. It is not that you can just pull the plug from the stadium. There is a whole organization behind it, the public roads have been shut down and thousands of spectators are on the road.”

A year ago, the Hagen Berman Axeon team lost 21-year-old Chad Young after he suffered injuries during a crash in the Tour of the Gila, according to Cycling Weekly. That team tweeted condolences to Goolaerts’s team on Sunday: “Terrible, awful news. Our deepest heartfelt condolences to you and Michael’s family and friends.”

Two years ago, Belgian cyclist Daan Myngheer, died at the age of 22, two days after having a heart attack on the Criterium International in Corsica. And Belgium’s Wouter Weylandt died in a crash during the third stage of the 2011 Giro d’Italia.</s>Cyclist Michael Goolaerts dies after crash while racing in Paris-Roubaix

Belgian rider Michael Goolaerts has died of cardiac arrest after crashing while competing in the Paris-Roubaix race.

Goolaerts' team said the 23-year-old died in a Lille hospital where he had been taken by helicopter from the one-day classic on Sunday.

"It is with unimaginable sadness that we have to communicate the passing of our rider and friend Michael Goolaerts," his team, Veranda's Willems-Crelan, said in a statement.

The team said Goolaerts died "in the presence of his family members and loved ones, who we keep in our thoughts". It added that he "died of cardiac arrest, all medical assistance was to no avail".

David Lappartient, president of cycling's peak body UCI, offered his condolences to the rider's family.

"On behalf of the Union Cycliste Internationale and the cycling family as a whole, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the family, team and friends of Michael Goolaerts, who left us too early today. We share their immense sadness," Mr Lappartient wrote on Twitter.

Goolaerts had been airlifted to hospital after collapsing about 150 kilometres from the finish.

No images of the incident itself were available but TV footage of the race showed Goolaerts lying unresponsive on the side of the road as the peloton passed him. He was then attended by a medical team and appeared to receive CPR.

Goolaerts rode in support of cyclo-cross world champion Wout van Aert of Belgium. His most significant result this season was 20th at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.

Peter Sagan won the race ahead of Silvan Dillier of Switzerland.

But the champion Slovak's thoughts post-race turned to Goolaerts.

"All the thoughts and prayers of the @BORAhansgrohe team and myself are with Michael Goolaerts. Such a sad news …," Sagan wrote on Twitter.

The Paris-Roubaix race has been nicknamed the 'Hell of the North' due to the toughness of the race which features 29 sections of cobblestones.

There have been numerous deaths among professional cyclists while competing in recent years, including others by cardiac arrest.

Goolaerts' death came two years after Belgian cyclist Daan Myngheer died following a heart attack during the Criterium International race in Corsica.

Another Belgian cyclist, Antoine Demoitie, died the same year following a crash in the Gent-Wevelgem race.

Also in recent years, Iranian Paralympian Bahman Golbarnezhad also died of cardiac arrest on the way to hospital after crashing during the S4 race at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.

American Chad Young and France's Mathieu Riebel died from head injuries in crashes on descents during the Tour of Gila and Tour de Nouvelle Caledonie in 2017 respectively.

Belgian Wouter Weylandt, a stage winner at the Vuelta a Espana and Giro d'Italia, died instantly when he hit a guard rail in the third stage at the 2011 Giro.</s>A Belgian cyclist has died tonight after suffering a heart attack during a race.

Michael Goolaerts' was airlifted to hospital having received CPR at the roadside following a crash in the 257-kilometre Paris-Roubaix race, an event held over challenging terrain and dubbed the 'Hell of the North'.

As they waited for news from the hospital in Lille, the Veranda's Willems-Crelan-Charles team urged people not to speculate about the 23-year-old Belgian's condition.

Goolaerts' situation marred a race which was won by world champion Peter Sagan, who had never before made the top five in six attempts.</s>The death of Belgian rider Michael Goolaerts following a crash at the Paris-Roubaix one-day race overshadowed the event on Sunday.

Television footage showed the 23-year-old receiving CPR treatment from medics by the side of the road after he crashed in the second cobbled sector of the 257-km race.

He was subsequently taken to Lille University hospital but failed to recover.

“It is with unimaginable sadness that we have to communicate the passing of our rider and friend Michael Goolaerts. He passed away Sunday evening at 22.40 in Lille hospital,” his team Veranda’s Willems-Crelan said in a statement.

“He died of cardiac arrest, all medical assistance was to no avail.”

Goolaerts is the third Belgian rider to die in recent years during a race. Antoine Demoitie passed away following a crash with a motorbike during the Gent-Wevelgem road classic in 2016.

In 2011 Wouter Weylandt died after crashing during the Giro d’Italia.</s>PARIS — French judicial officials launched an investigation Monday into the death of Belgian rider Michael Goolaerts during the Paris-Roubaix cycling race.

Goolaerts died Sunday after collapsing during the one-day classic on cobblestones in northern France.

Cambrai prosecutor Remi Schwartz told The Associated Press that an autopsy will be performed on Goolaerts’ body in the coming days to determine the exact cause of death.

The 23-year-old Belgian died at a hospital in Lille, where he had been taken by helicopter from the race. Organizers said in a medical statement that he suffered a cardio-respiratory arrest.

Goolaerts had been airlifted to the hospital after collapsing about 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the finish in the second of the 29 cobblestone sectors of the race known as “The Hell of the North.”

No images of the incident were available but TV footage of the race showed Goolaerts lying unresponsive on the side of the road as the peloton passed him. He was then attended to by a medical team and appeared to receive CPR.

According to Schwartz, early investigation results indicate that Goolaerts might have fallen off his bike because of a cardiac episode, and that it was not the crash that led to his death.

“But at this stage we don’t have any absolute certainty,” he said. “There is no obvious explanation, nor an obvious traumatism as the cause (of his death).”

Goolaerts was in his fourth year with the Veranda’s Willems-Crelan team. He rode in support of cyclo-cross world champion Wout van Aert of Belgium at Paris-Roubaix. His most significant result this season was 20th at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.

Goolaerts’ death came two years after Belgian cyclist Daan Myngheer died following a heart attack during the Criterium International race in Corsica. Another Belgian cyclist, Antoine Demoitie, died the same year following a crash in the Gent-Wevelgem race.</s>A Belgian cyclist died Sunday after crashing during the one-day Paris-Roubaix race in northern France.

Michael Goolaerts, a 23-year-old cyclist with Veranda’s Willems-Crelan team, suffered cardiac arrest and was airlifted to a hospital in Lille, where he died “of cardiac arrest,” the team said in a statement, adding that he was “in the presence of his family members and loved ones.” He crashed about halfway through the 257-kilometer race on the second section of cobbles and was unconscious, according to the BBC. Video from the scene appeared to show him receiving CPR from medics at the scene.

The team planned “no further communication as we want to give his close ones time to deal with this terrible loss.”

The race, which is called the “Hell of the North” and goes from north of Paris to Roubaix, consists of 29 cobbled sections. It covers rugged terrain, with cyclists using special bike frames and tires. Flats and mechanical problems often occur.

Goolaerts, who was in his fourth season with Veranda’s Willems-Crelan, spent 2013 and 2014 with them at the continental level, and returned in 2017 after a season as a trainee with Belgian World Tour team Lotto-Soudal. That year, he won the opening stage of the 2016 Tour du Loir-et-Cher on the UCI Europe Tour. He rode several of the cobbled classics and semi-classics this season. He was riding in his first Paris-Roubaix race for senior competitors after riding in the under-23 version three years ago.

David Lappartient, president of cycling’s world governing body the UCI, said in a statement: “On behalf of the UCI and the cycling family as a whole, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the family, team and loved ones of Michael Goolaerts, who left too early,” David Lappartient, the president of cycling world governing body (UCI), said. “We share their immense sadness.”

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What did Joe Paterno really know about the Sandusky scandal at Penn State?</s>Belgian rider Michael Goolaerts died of cardiac arrest in France after collapsing while competing in the Paris-Roubaix race Sunday.

Goolaerts’ team said the 23-year-old died in a Lille hospital where he had been taken by helicopter from the one-day classic.

“It is with unimaginable sadness that we have to communicate the passing of our rider and friend Michael Goolaerts,” the Veranda’s Willems-Crelan team said in a statement.

The team said Goolaerts died “in the presence of his family members and loved ones, who we keep in our thoughts.” It added that he “died of cardiac arrest, all medical assistance was to no avail.”

TV footage of the race showed Goolaerts lying unresponsive on the side of the road as the peloton passed him. He was quickly attended by a medical team and appeared to receive CPR.

Slovakia’s Peter Sagan, a leading contender in next month’s Tour of California, won the race ahead of Silvan Dillier of Switzerland.

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Belgian Vérandas Willems–Crelan cyclist Michael Goolaerts crashes during the race in France and subsequently dies in hospital.