The youngest was 13 years old and was painted with Egan Bernal in the mural of the triumph of the 2019 Tour de France in Zipaquirá.
Julián Esteban Gómez, a boy training to be a professional cyclist, was recognized throughout the country after he was seen moved and crying during the celebration of Egan Bernal’s triumph in the 2019 Tour de France.
The minor, who admired the cyclist and said at that time that he wanted to become like him, died this Sunday when he was hit by a tractor-trailer while training with family members.
The minor was during the morning cycling the road that leads from Zipaquirá to Cajicá when at kilometer 17 + 200 the accident that caused his death occurred when he was hit by a vehicle.
According to RCN Radio, the minor apparently lost his stability during training and fell to the ground. At that moment the truck that caused his death passed. In addition, the alcholemia test performed on the driver would have been negative.
His coach, Fabio Rodríguez, confirmed the news through social networks. “ Today you leave without being able to fulfill your dreams that you had and you leave me without anyone to bother you, only 13 years old and a damn muleteer takes your life, your early departure breaks my heart, it only remains for me to tell you that I will miss you forever. dear Julián ”, wrote the former professional cyclist on social networks.
Julián Esteban Gómez, el niño que lloró por triunfo de @Eganbernal en el @LeTour #TourDeFrance y que tenía el sueño de correr en las grandes vueltas murió este domingo al ser atropellado mientras entrenaba en #Zipaquirá tenia 13 años #DEP pic.twitter.com/htXgdiej3r
— Emmanuel Rosalez (@journalero) July 18, 2021
Due to his admiration for Egan Bernal, the minor was portrayed next to the runner in a mural in honor of the triumph of the Tour de France, a race that ended its 2021 edition this same Sunday when the death of the boy Gómez was known.
Sports journalists and other professional cyclists have lamented the minor’s early departure, as several of them sought him out to learn his story when he went viral for his interest in the pedal sport.
” When I grow up I want to be like Egan Bernal, win the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia,” Julián Gómez told RCN News when he was interviewed for his emotional celebration of the gala round of the also Zipaquireño.
The minor also managed to speak with the Ineos cyclist, who told him to continue fighting for his dreams and training to one day be in the great cycling tours, as he had done.
Julián Esteban, for his part, took the opportunity to confess his admiration and assured him in dialogue with the newspaper El Tiempo, that the meeting was a great emotion. ” Egan is our idol and I told him I admired him, ” said the cyclist boy.
President Iván Duque regretted the death of the minor, through a message on his Twitter account. “It is with deep pain that we received the news of the death of Julián Esteban Gómez, a 13-year-old athlete who was run over while training on his bicycle in Zipaquirá, Cundinamarca. We accompany their families in prayer and send them a message of solidarity, ”the president wrote.
Cycling, on the road, has been a high-risk sport, in 2020, according to the Road Safety Observatory, 433 cyclists died in traffic accidents, registering an increase of 4.59% in cases, compared to 2019.
“The death of cyclists increased in some cities such as Bogotá because the use of bicycles has doubled and cyclists are much more exposed. We need greater respect from all road actors towards cyclists and from cyclists with the basic rules of the road. We also need cities to manage their speed, and adopt a maximum of 50 kilometers per hour for the protection of both cyclists, pedestrians and other road actors, ”explained Dario Hidalgo, mobility expert to the CM & newscast.
Amelia Warner
Amelia Warner writes all the Latest Articles. She mostly covers Entertainment topics, but at times loves to write about movie reviews as well.
