Driver accused of killing Michele Scarponi dies of cancer

The van driver involved in the collision last year that resulted in the death of 2011 Giro d’Italia champion Michele Scarponi has died of cancer.

> Tributes paid to Giro d’Italia winner Michele Scarponi after his death at age 37

Press reports in Italy suggest that Giuseppe Giacconi, aged 58 and from Filottrano, the same small town in Italy’s Marche region as Scarponi, had been consumed by grief following the fatal crash on 22 April last year.

Astana rider Scarponi was on a training ride ahead of the Giro d’Italia, where he was due to lead the Kazakh team after Fabio Aru was ruled out through injury, when Giacconi, a carpenter by trade, hit him at a junction.

Scarponi had been awarded the victory in the 2011 edition of the race after Alberto Contador was stripped of the title following his ban for his positive test for clenbuterol during the previous year's Tour de France.

According to the Corriere della Sera, for months after the fatal incident, Giacconi – by all accounts a fan of Scarponi – would repeat the words, “I didn’t see him, I didn’t see him.”

Some reports suggest that the driver had said he had been blinded by the sun, although last October it was claimed that he had admitted to prosecutors that he had been watching a video on his mobile phone at the time.

> Motorist in crash that killed Michele Scarponi reportedly admitted he was watching a video on his phone

Giacconi’s funeral took place yesterday and he has been buried in the same cemetery as Scarponi in their home town.

With his death, the criminal investigation into the death at the age of 37 of Scarponi comes to a close, since there is no longer a suspect.

The news comes ahead of the launch in Rome later today of a road safety initiative aimed at reducing cyclist casualties and devised by Italy’s national cycling federation the FCI in partnership with agencies including the country’s national police force.

Quick Step Floors sprinter and Olympic omnium champion Elia Viviani will be at the presentation, as will Scarponi’s brother, Marco.