The death of 19-year-old Sara Piffer in Italy has sparked profound sadness but also anger after yet another young cyclist was killed in a collision with a car while out training. Official Italian statistics show that 204 cyclists died on the roads in 2024.
"We've got to stop this massacre," former Giro d'Italia and Classics winner Francesco Moser, who lives in the same village near Trento as the Piffer family, told Tuttobiciweb.
"It's unacceptable. There are far too many tragedies on the roads, far too many deaths. We've got to do something."
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According to initial reports, Piffer was riding on a straight road near Trento with her brother when a car coming in the opposite direction overtook another vehicle but allegedly struggled to see the two cyclists due to the sun.
Piffer was evacuated by helicopter, but died in hospital due to her injuries. Her funeral will be held on Monday.
"They asked me to choose the clothes for my daughter's funeral, I picked a cycling jersey she won last year," her mother Marianna told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
"It has 'winner' on the front and she dedicated that success to Matteo Lorenzi, who was killed last year. Sara was always a winner for me but she died in the arms of her brother.
"Before she went out training, I told her to be careful. She replied: "The others have to be careful around us cyclists because they don't understand the risks they take.'"
Piffer's brother Christan somehow only suffered minor injuries but witnessed the incident.
"I heard a noise, I looked back, then ran to my sister but there was nothing I could do," he said.
"At first I was angry with the driver, then I saw that they were scared and ashamed."
Piffer was part of the Mendelspeck Continental women's team. She won U23 Giornata Nazionale Rosa - GP Città di Corridonia in 2024 and was fourth place in a team time trial event at the Italian National al Championships. In 2023 she was sixth in the time trial and eighth at the Italian Junior National Championships
