Former British National Champion dies

Mark Bell, the former British Olympic cyclist, has died on Friday, January 30, at the age of 49.

Bell won the British Cycling Road Race Championships in 1981 as an amateur and again in 1984 as a professional. He competed on the British road and track teams at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, and his success in the UK included wins in the Archer GP, Essex GP and stages in the Milk Race.

Mark's brother, Tony Bell, posted the news of Mark's death, on Velocityriders.co.uk on Friday evening.

Tony said: "Mark battled with a lot of problems in his last years, but, when he was on top of things and doing well, he was a lovely man. I'm just so glad that I spent a lot of time with him over the last couple of months. We're all going to miss him so much."

Over the weekend message boards and forums have been full of cyclists paying their respects.

Cyclingnews extends its condolences to the family and friends of Bell.