Five time Race Across America finisher killed after driver fell asleep

Brazilian ultra-distance cyclist, Claudio Clarindo, was killed on Monday when he was hit by a car. The Latin American Herald Tribune reports that he was training on a highway in Sao Paulo state when the incident took place.

Clarindo was riding on the Rio-Santos road, along the São Paulo coast, with another cyclist, Jacob Amorim. On his Facebook page, Clarindo's team said that according to transport police, the driver of a vehicle heading towards Guarujá fell asleep at the wheel, crossed over into the opposite lane and hit the two of them. Amorim suffered multiple fractures to his leg. Clarindo died before he reached hospital.

Clarindo last year completed his fifth Race Across America (RAAM), finishing 16^th in a time of 11 days, 23 hours and 35 minutes. His best result came in 2011 when he finished seventh in 10 days, 15 hours and 49 minutes. His efforts that year were the subject of a Brazilian documentary, Sem Limites Dia e Noite (No Limits, Day or Night).

Clarindo combined his cycling with work as a sports coordinator in the city of Santos-SP. He was said to cycle most mornings at 5.20am, riding 120 kilometres or so before working until 7pm.

The RAAM paid tribute to Clarindo on its Facebook page, saying: “Claudio Clarindo will be sorely missed by the RAAM community and the UltraCycling community as a whole. He was a strong competitor who never lost sight of the joy within our sport.”