We posted a photo earlier this week from Dwars door Vlaanderen which showed the German rider Rudi Selig of Katusha coming to the aid of Swiss cyclist Marcel Aregger of IAM Cycling.
Both riders fell after a crash in the peloton, but Aregger came off worse as he lay on the ground not moving. The sight of the young rider lying motionless resulted in his teammates Dries Devenyns and Aleksjs Saramotins abandoning the race through shock.
His directeur sportif Eddy Seigneur admitted afterwards that the incident reminded him of the tragic death of Fabio Casartelli on the descent of the Col de Portet d’Aspet in the 1995 Tour de France.
Seigneur said, “Images of Fabio Casartelli flashed through my mind. Marcel was lying face down on the pavement without giving any signs of life. Emergency medical rescuers attended him with all precautions. His face was very bloodied due to the injury to his eyebrow, but then he gave encouraging signs. He managed to move all his limbs.”
Selig, as can be seen in the photo, lost all interest in his own race and was more concerned with helping his fellow rider, and it’s something that hasn’t been lost on Aregger. The Swiss cyclist has since tweeted the below message.
