Very sad day for women's cycling...

[Technotart]

Amy Gillet News Story

Amy Gillet was killed and 5 of her team mates seriously injured in a training ride in Germany. They were hit by an out of control car on a stretch of wooded road.

Messages of condolence for the injured and the riders families can be sent to the following email address:
feedback@ausport.gov.au


Cyclingnews.com Story

[DeniseGoldberg]

I absolutely hate to hear that accidents like this one have happened. I wish there was some way to prevent them - and this one sounds truly senseless with what sounds like a driver on the wrong side of the road.

My heart goes out to her family and friends, and to the other cyclists who were injured as well.

--- Denise

[spazzdog]

What a horrible situation for these women and their families. For one car to virtually wipe out an entire team... unbelievable!

[betagirl]

Wow. That's absolutely horrible.

[Grog]

That really hurts... I feel really horrible too, and all of my thoughts are with the cyclists, their families and friends, and all of the cycling community. ouch...

[wabisabi]

Oh, so sad. I imagine that most of us can imagine all too well what happened. This past weekend we were coming down a big long hill, and a driver, going too fast, was in our lane, and had to swerve to get out, the exact situation where an overcorrection can occur, which sounds like what happened here.

[RoadRaven]

Dayam <insert profane swearing here>

This kind of thing makes me so mad

When it is operator error (and the driver lost control from inexperience) it is not an accident. An accident is something that is preventable. This was preventable. This was simply a crash.

I feel awful for the 18 year old learner driver, but dayam... this should not have happened.

I'm at a loss for words... I've always felt that the invention of the car gave us one of the most widely available potential lethal weapons, and this is a great example

I will write to the email, thank you Tech... but at the moment I am at an absolute loss as to what to say --- this should not have happened

Be safe out there, wonderful women of TE
Ride hard... but be safe

[SpinSis]

How absolutely horrible. Thank you for passing along the news. How senseless and unfortunate. I hope her teammates are able to get the support they need, as well as that young driver. Words may be hard to find for an email, but don't underestimate the impact of the act itself. Sadly it is reminding me of the sudden death of Nicole Rinehart. I lived just down the street and watched that race...the flowers from strangers were there for years.

Be safe everyone.

[SnowMouse]

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.....

[Technotart]

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.