Former successful Danish cyclist Chris Anker Sörensen died in an accident on Saturday at the venue of the World Road Championships in Belgium, where he was to work as an expert on Danish television TV 2 SPORTS.
Station officials said their 37-year-old colleague was hit by a van while riding a bike. He succumbed to his injuries and died thirteen days after his 37th birthday. “We received the news with great sadness,” said television director Frederik Lauesen.
“Words cannot express my sadness at this tragic event. A former professional cyclist and journalist has left, our deepest thoughts are with his family, friends and the whole of Danish cycling,” said President of the International Cycling Union David Lappartient.
Anker Sörensen was a professional cyclist from 2005 to 2018. He spent most of his career in the elite Danish stable of CSC and took part in twelve Grand Tours. His greatest achievements included winning the Giro d’Italia in 2010 and triumphing at the Danish Championships five years later.
He became famous in the peloton as a cyclist who could withstand a lot, and his facial grimaces were typical on television broadcasts during the ascents.
At the Tour de France 2012 he won a jersey for the biggest fighter of the race. Also because in the seventeenth stage he came to a nasty bloody wound. While driving, he tried to remove a jammed piece of newspaper from the front wheel and carried it away with two torn fingers on his left hand. He immediately had to undergo a skin transplant, yet he completed the Tour in full.
The World Road Cycling Championship starts today from 2.30 pm with the men’s time trial. The Czech specialist Josef Černý will also take part in the 43.3-kilometer-long race from Knokke-Heist to Brugg.
.
