The sudden death of promising young French rider Fabrice Salanson remains a mystery thus far, with an autopsy carried out yesterday proving inconclusive. The Brioches la Boulangère rider had been due to start the Tour of Germany yesterday but Salanson was found lying on his hotel room floor by one of his team-mates, having died during the night. Tour organisers at the time issued a statement saying that no medication of an illegal nature was found in the rider's room.
The 23 year old's death is a mystery to his team, as the rider had been in fine health on Monday and was looking forward to riding the seven day German tour. Salanson was a rider who seemed set for a good professional career, having won stages in the Tour de l'Avenir and the Midi Libre in the past.
The Frenchman's death is the third in the professional ranks this season. Denis Zanette suffered a heart attack at the beginning of the year, while former Tour de France yellow jersey Andrei Kivilev died following a crash in the Paris-Nice race in March.
Filed by Barry J Whyte
