The Lotto Soudal team have announced that they will start stage 4 of the Tour de Pologne on Tuesday as a tribute to 22-year-old Bjorg Lambrecht, who died after a crash during stage 3.
The six Lotto Soudal riders left in the race are in shock after the sudden loss of their teammate but will take part in the 133.7km neutralized stage between Jaworzno to Kocierz. The teams in the race are expected to lead the peloton for seven kilometres each, with Lotto Soudal then crossing the line first to commemorate their teammate.
Lambrecht went off the road and crashed into a concrete culvert during stage 3 to Zabrze. He was resuscitated and taken to a hospital in critical condition. Michał Sieroń, spokesman for Provincial Specialist Hospital No. 3 in Rybnik confirmed to Sport.pl that Lambrecht died during emergency surgery. Lambrecht's death was later confirmed by the Lotto Soudal team.
Lambrecht was considered a huge talent, having won the U23 Liège-Bastogne-Liège and come second in the Tour de l’Avenir behind Egan Bernal, the Giro Ciclistico della Valle d'Aosta Mont Blanc, Tour de Savoie Mont Blanc and Ronde de l'Isard in 2017.
He turned professional with Lotto Soudal in 2018.
This season he finished fourth at La Flèche Wallonne and impressed at Amstel Gold Race and De Brabantse Pijl. He won the young rider classification in the Critérium du Dauphiné, finishing 12th overall.
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