Very sad day for women's cycling...

I've been haunted by this story all day. It could have happened to any one of us. I'll be riding with a black ribbon on my bike this weekend to remember those women, and to remind myself to ride safe and strong - life is short.

I didn't realise this thread was here....

It was great to see Cadel Evans honour the girls in his ride. I'm sure it gave him something deep to dig from, to ride well for the girls. This just makes me so incredibly sad, I don't know what to say. Keep them in your prayers, two of the girls are still not out of deep water. I feel so vulnerable now from learning of this. I was always so scared of cars from behind me. A fellow woman mtbiker was also hit while out on the road earlier this year and is still recovering from a fractured hip. I am so $%#&@%# off.....

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/20..._gilletttn.jpg

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/20...S/team_ais.jpg

The sad thing is - they weren't hit from behind. You know, they could have been riding in a small car and been killed or hurt just as badly. They had their coaches protection from behind, who could have predicted a freak accident? They could have been ANYWHERE but they were right where that car happened to veer off...Yes it's scary, but I doubt ANY of them would say anyone should give up cycling on the roads because of it. The best way to remember Amy Gillett and to honor her team mates is to keep riding. Be smart about it, but keep riding. Any of us could round a corner on foot or in our cars any day and be killed.

Ah... still feeling dreadful about this

Snowmouse, thanks for posting their pics here - I was coming to do that today...

Here's the latest from the Sydney Morning Herald...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Munro in Zeulenroda

Three cyclists on mend, two critical
July 22, 2005

Amy Gillett sped to the front of the pack only seconds before the car that killed her hit her.

Her Australian teammates say she was inspiring them to ride faster when the car swerved across the road and skidded sideways into the group.

It hit her then collected her five cycling teammates before flipping over and into a ditch by the side of the straight road near Zeulenroda, Germany.

These recollections of Katie Brown, 22, Kate Nichols, 20, and Lorian Graham, 27, offer the first glimpse into the moments before the accident.

Gillett's husband, Simon, arrived in Germany yesterday to collect the body of the woman he married only a year ago.

Her teammates, in hospital, have told Greg Boorer, a mechanic for the national women's cycling squad, that the 29-year-old had been forcing the pace as the group practised the first stage of the six-day Thüringen Rundfahrt on Monday.

She sped past the group at more than 70kmh and was only a few metres ahead when the car struck the team.

They recall seeing the car come "tearing up the hill" and swerve violently across to the wrong side of the road before turning sideways and "skittling the girls like a tenpin bowling set", Mr Boorer said. Married to the former Commonwealth Games cyclist Margaret Hemsley, he has visited the cyclists in hospital with the national coach Warren McDonald, who was driving behind the team at the time of the accident.

"They're really brave. They have a lot of injuries but they can see they're going to improve and get better," Mr Boorer said on Wednesday.

Three of the cyclists are starting to talk and move again, while their two teammates remain in a critical condition.

Nichols, from Sydney, could be released from hospital as early as next week after suffering only multiple cuts and bruises in the collision.

She and Brown, also from Sydney, and Graham, of Queensland, have a "very good chance" of returning to competitive cycling, according to doctors at Jena University Clinic, south of Leipzig.

Brown, who is sharing a ward with Nichols, underwent a second successful operation on her left knee and right leg on Wednesday. She is expected to be discharged from hospital in two to three weeks.

"They were very happy when the two Kates met on the ICU [intensive care unit]. It was a very heartbreaking moment. I think it is very important that they stay together," said Dr Gernot Marx, acting head of the intensive care unit.

Alexis Rhodes, 20, of South Australia, and Louise Yaxley, 23, of Tasmania, are unconscious and still face "a life-threatening situation". However, Peter Fricker, the Australian Institute of Sport director, who arrived at the hospital on Wednesday, said both women "are very fit and strong and we have reason to be optimistic about their recovery".

He said the parents of the five cyclists "want everyone to know they are optimistic about their daughters' recovery".

Yaxley and Rhodes are still on ventilators, and are expected to remain in hospital for four to six weeks.

Graham was moved to the hospital on Wednesday afternoon from a nearby clinic. Her parents and boyfriend arrived in Germany yesterday.

Parents of all five cyclists have now arrived.

The 18-year-old driver remains in an unidentified hospital. Her injuries were not major, said Dr Raik Schafer of the Jena University Clinic, who arrived at the scene in a rescue helicopter 10 minutes after the accident.

Police are waiting to speak to the driver and other witnesses. They have not yet laid charges, which could include involuntary manslaughter. It appears unlikely, however, that the driver will receive a prison term.