Autopsy held to determine cause of Galletti's death

An autopsy will be performed on the body of Alessio Galletti, 37, who died yesterday during the Subida al Naranco race in Spain. Meanwhile, details of the circumstances surrounding his death have been revealed by Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, according to which the Italian Naturino-Sapore di Mare rider may have suffered a heart attack.

"He said that he was feeling pain in his chest," teammate Mario de Sarraga told the Italian media, explaining that Galletti was was riding in a group close to his during the penultimate climb of La Manzaneda some 15 kilometres before the finish. "He complained that his sternum hurt a lot," he continued. Igor Pugaci (Universal Caffè), who was riding in the same group as Galletti, recalled that Galletti stopped and got off his bike after saying that he felt "bad" and that he couldn't "get air". He then lost consciousness and, according to Giuseppe Lanzoni, Universal Caffè's directeur sportif, had stopped breathing when the ambulance arrived.

Meanwhile, the Naturino-Sapore di Mare team has decided to refrain from racing in the Vuelta a Asturias. The decision was taken by manager Vincenzo Santoni in accordance with all the riders. The Italian squad will return to competition on June 21 for the Settimana Tricolore (Italian championships).