Cycling: Salanson dies suddenly before Tour of Germany

The sport was cast into mourning yesterday following the death of the French rider Fabrice Salanson, just hours before he was due to start the Tour of Germany.

Salanson was found lying by his bed early that morning by a team-mate sharing a hotel room with him in Dresden. Doctors were called and they estimated the 23-year-old had been dead for at least six hours.

In a macabre repetition of events after the Kazakh rider Andrei Kivilev died from injuries suffered in a crash during the 2003 Paris-Nice early this spring, the news that cycling had lost a third professional rider in four months spread as competitors gathered for the start in the town centre at midday.

The succession of smiles, handshakes and greetings that usually precede a stage race suddenly gave way to long faces and grim looks, and organisers hastily convened a press conference in a nearby restaurant to confirm the news. A minute's silence was held in memory of Salanson before the opening 184.1km sprint stage to Altenburg.

Although police have opened an inquiry, race officials emphasised that all the signs pointed to death by natural causes. "They are sure it was not murder," the race sports director, Roland Hofer, stated, "and only vitamins tablets were found by his bed-side. It is possible he had a heart attack, and even though a doctor was called to the team's hotel the night before he died because another rider had a back problem, Salanson did not say he was feeling unwell."

The organisers' keenness to play down any whiff of controversy is indicative of the sport's touchy state concerning drug scandals. Early this year, when the Italian rider Denis Zanette died from a heart attack during a routine dental check-up, groundless reports suggested the tragedy could have been artificially induced. Even Kivilev, who died directly from race-induced injuries, was given an autopsy by suspicious French government officials.

Salanson's Brioches-la-Boulangere team pulled out immediately, which yesterday's stage winner, Erik Zabel, said was "probably the wisest option. This is going to be a very difficult period for them."

Stuart O'Grady, the Australian who rides for another French team, Crédit Agricole, was sombre after finishing second behind Zabel. "To be honest I hardly knew the guy but it's still terrible," he said.

Alasdair Fotheringham writes for Cycling Weekly