Lieuwe Westra, a former professional rider, passed away at 40. According to his biographer Thomas Sijtsma, the Dutchman passed away on Saturday afternoon.
According to Dutch media, CPR failed to revive Westra after he was discovered unconscious at his workplace in Zwaagdijk, Netherlands. Sijtsma later stated that “no recommendation of suicide” was being made.
The eight-year racing career of the Dutchman, known as “The Beast,” saw him compete for Vacansoleil and Astana. He resigned in January 2017 with 13 victories to his name.
What happened to Lieuwe Westra ?
His biographer Thomas Sijtsma confirmed the information early on Sunday.
“Saturday afternoon saw the death of Liu Westra. In recent years, the former rider battled himself and lost, according to Sijtsma. Rest in peace, animal.
Westra left her position at the beginning of 2017, citing depression. Since then, he has gone through challenging years, including divorce and selling the cycling hotel he co-founded with his ex-wife.
In Zwaagdijk, the Netherlands, he was discovered dead on Saturday. It is unknown what caused the death.
Lieuwe Westra Cause of death
His biographer disclosed the new cover by the Dutch media. At the age of 40, Lieuwe Westra passed away on Saturday afternoon. He was a former cyclist who had worked with Astana and Vacansoleil-DMC.
Lieuwe Westra, a former Dutch cyclist who competed in the 2012 Paris-Nice, passed away on Sunday at 40 following a lifelong struggle with melancholy, according to his biographer and Dutch media.
According to family members cited by local station Omrop Fryslan, Westra, known as “the Beast” for his aggressive riding style, was found dead on Saturday at his place of work close to the northwest Dutch city of Enkhuizen.
Who was Lieuwe Westra?
Dutch professional cycling racer Lieuwe Westra competed for the KrolStonE Continental Team, Vacansoleil-DCM, and Astana teams between 2006 and 2016.
Westra, a native of Mûnein, finished second in the 2012 Paris-Nice, a UCI World Tour race, and he also triumphed on the queen stage ahead of Mende. This unique stage culminated at the top of the 10.1% average gradient, 3 km (1.9 mi) long Côte de la Croix-Neuve-Montée Laurent Jalabert.
He started his attack within the final kilometre, and the leading group, including race leader Bradley Wiggins, could not reel him in. He sped across the finish line without making an effort, which suggests that if he had, he might have passed Wiggins for the lead jersey. He finished 6 seconds behind Wiggins after winning.
He would finish Paris-Nice 8 seconds behind the British rider in the general classification. In August, Westra won the 2012 Danmark Rundt, a six-stage race conducted in Denmark.
Westra Nicknamed “The Beast”
“The Beast” Westra, who raced for Vacansoleil and Astana during his 11-year career, won 13 races at the start of the previous decade.
Along with GC’s victory in the Tour of Denmark and the Driedaagse De Panne, his palmarès include stage wins at Paris-Nice, the Tour of California, and the Critérium du Dauphiné. The Mûnein-born force also assisted Vincenzo Nibali in claiming the yellow jersey at the 2014 Tour de France.
Westra detailed his doping incidents in a biography he wrote after retiring called Het Beest.
Career achievements
He won the time trial for the competition, which helped him secure the win by earning him the leader’s jersey, which he would not give up. Ramones Navardauskas of the Garmin-Barracuda team came in second, 10 seconds back.
2007: Fourth Overall, First Stage 2 of the OZ Wielerweekend (ITT)
2014 -1st Stage 7 Critérium du Dauphiné Stage 5 Tour de France 1st Stage 7 Volta a Catalunya
2016 is the inaugural Three Days of De Panne.
On January 8, 2017, Westra posted on his Facebook page that he was retiring. I’ve decided to stop racing today, he wrote. I’m unable to go on. Many thanks to A Boskamp and K Snijder!
I’ll stop now, but I’ll come back later and deal with these issues fast. Westra expresses gratitude to the biking community. The retirement was declared the day after this post was later taken down on the Wanty-Groupe Gobert team’s Twitter account.
Tributes Pouring in Social Media
An outpouring of condolences from the professional cycling community has already started, including from Johnny Hoogerland, a former teammate.
Hello, my friend. How have you been the past few years? We are devastated that your life has already ended today. I’m sorry we weren’t able to do more for you. I’ll always be grateful for what you have done for me as a teammate, “Added Hoogerland. Rest there, if you can.”
The shocking news of Lieuwe Westra’s premature death has disappointed us. To the family and loved ones, we send our sincere sympathies.