Michael Goolaerts (; 24 July 1994 – 8 April 2018) was a Belgian cyclist who rode for . During the 2018 Paris–Roubaix, Goolaerts suffered a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

. He was airlifted to a hospital in

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

, where he died hours later.

Biography

Goolaerts was born in Lier and grew up in Hallaar,

Heist-op-den-Berg Heist-op-den-Berg () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises Heist-op-den-Berg proper (including the hamlets: Heist-Goor, Heist-Station, Zonderschot, Heist-Centrum and Bruggeneinde), the villages o ...

, where he became a member of the Balen Bicycle Club. He won the provincial individual time trial championship title of

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

in the newcomers category in 2010. He also won the individual time trial championship title in the juniors category in 2011. In 2012, he was part of the teams that won Belgian national junior championship titles in the

team pursuit The team pursuit is a track cycling event similar to the individual pursuit, except that two teams, each of up to four riders, compete, starting on opposite sides of the velodrome. Race format Both men's and women's events are competed over ...

and the

team sprint The team sprint (also sometimes known as the Olympic sprint) is a track cycling event. Despite its name, it is not a conventional cycling sprint event – it is a three-rider team time trial held over three laps of a velodrome. The riders use a ...

. That year he also finished eighth in the junior version of the

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders () may refer to the following cycle races: * Tour of Flanders (men's race) The Tour of Flanders (), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race held in Belgium every spri ...

. He joined the Verandas Willems team as a '' stagiaire'' in the second half of 2013, and went on to secure a full-time contract with the team the following year. In 2015 he joined Lotto-Soudal's development team. Goolaerts joined as a stagiaire, starting on 1 August 2016, before rejoining the now

UCI Professional Continental The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to expand cycling around the world. The five circuits (representing the continents of Africa, the ...

team for the 2017 season. He made his debut in the

Étoile de Bessèges The Étoile de Bessèges () is an early-season five-day road bicycle racing stage race held annually around Bessèges, in the Gard department of the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. First organized in 1971 as a one-day race, it became a ...

, and had a top-10 position in the GP Briek Schotte. That year he also made the early breakaways in the

, where he remained in the front group for over 200 km,

Halle–Ingooigem Halle–Ingooigem is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in June in West Flanders, Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Cou ...

, where his performance earned the praise of

Tom Boonen Tom Boonen (; born 15 October 1980) is a Belgian former road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 2002 and 2017 for the and teams and a professional racing driver who currently competes in Belcar, having previously competed in ...

, and Paris-Tours. At the start of the 2018 season he placed ninth in Dwars door West–Vlaanderen. On 8 April 2018, Goolaerts started in his first Paris–Roubaix. On the second cobbled sector, at Briastre, after 109 km of racing, he suffered cardiorespiratory arrest and lay unresponsive on the ground. He was resuscitated by paramedics and transferred by helicopter to CHRU-Hospital in

. He died later that evening. An autopsy concluded that he had suffered a cardiac arrest before he fell from his bike. In May 2018 it was announced that the cobbled section where he crashed would be renamed the "Secteur Pavé Michael Goolaerts" in his honour, and that his family would be invited to unveil a monument at the site of his fall the following month.

Major results

''As of April 2018'' ;2012 : 1st Team sprint, National Junior Track Championships : 8th Junior Tour of Flanders ;2015 : 4th

Paris–Chauny Paris–Chauny is a one-day cycling race held in France. It was first held in 1922 and has been part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union C ...

;2016 : 1st Stage 1

Tour du Loir-et-Cher The Tour du Loir-et-Cher is a cycling stage race that takes place in the Loir-et-Cher region of France. The race traditionally starts and finishes in the capital of Blois. Since at least 2009, the final stage has consisted of a 12-lap circuit ra ...

: 9th Nationale Sluitingprijs ;2018 : 9th Dwars door West–Vlaanderen

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goolaerts, Michael 1994 births 2018 deaths Belgian male cyclists Cyclists who died while racing Filmed deaths in sports Cyclists from Lier, Belgium Sport deaths in France 21st-century Belgian sportsmen

Biography

Major results

See also

References

External links