For the second time this month, tragedy has struck a cycle race in Britain through the death of a rider, with a competitor killed this morning following a collision with a caravan towed by a 4x4 during the City Road Club (Hull) Open 10 mile time trial. The victim has not yet been officially named.
The Hull Daily Mail has reported that according to police, the fatal incident took place at around 10.30am on the dual carriageway A63 near Brough, with City Road Club confirming to the newspaper that the rider killed was one of the 150 participants.
Racing was abandoned following the incident, and the road was closed between Welton Road at Brough and the A1034 at South Cave while emergency services, including police collision investigators, attended the scene.
Today's fatality comes less than four weeks after 23-year-old Herbalife Leisure Lakes rider Junior Heffernan was killed during the Severn Bridge Road Race after colliding with a vehicle on a descent.
In recent years several cyclists have been killed while taking part in time trials on dual carriageways, including Karl Austin, hit from behind by a lorry on the A50 in Derbyshire in June 2011, Cathy Ward of Solihull Road Club, struck by a car on the A46 near Stratford-upon-Avon in August 2010, and Major Gareth Rhys Evans, who was hit by a car on the A1 near St Neots, Cambridgeshire, in May 2009.
Simon has been news editor at road.cc since 2009, reporting on 10 editions and counting of pro cycling’s biggest races such as the Tour de France, stories on issues including infrastructure and campaigning, and interviewing some of the biggest names in cycling. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, his background has proved invaluable in reporting on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, and the bike industry. He splits his time between London and Cambridge, and loves taking his miniature schnauzer Elodie on adventures in the basket of her Elephant Bike.