WARSAW, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- The fourth stage of Tour de Pologne started at midday on Tuesday in Jaworzno, nearby Katowice in southern Poland, with cyclists paying homage to their Belgian colleague who died during Monday's race.
Lambrecht fell off during his bike ride on Monday, apparently plunging into a culvert on the road. He needed to be reanimated on the spot and regained consciousness for a while, but later died in the hospital in Rybnik. Local police are further investigating the circumstances.
The 22-year-old Belgian cyclist rode for the team Lotto-Soudal. In 2015, he became Belgium's national junior champion and last year he took part in the Vuelta a Espana, one of the three major European professional cycling races, alongside Giro d'Italia and Tour de France.
On Tuesday, organizers of Tour de Pologne decided to neutralize the fourth stage, with cyclists covering the route but not competing to win. The Lotto-Soudal team biked ahead of the pack, with other teams taking turns to lead, and bikers biking side by side, some of them wearing black arm bands. At kilometer 48, the bikers stopped to hold a minute of silence in the memory of Lambrecht.
Lambrecht had been passionate about cycling since childhood and was considered to be friendly and charming by colleagues and sports journalists.
