Cycling was his passion. Tristan Merle, a young man who had just celebrated his 17th birthday on Saturday December 8, died after being hit by a car.
The accident happened on Saturday December 20 on a small departmental road in Charente during a group session with his Angoulême Vélo Club club.
At the start of the afternoon, Tristan and a group of around twenty runners leave for an 80 km outing between L’Isle-d’Espagnac via Touvre or Torsac.
Arriving in Bouëx, on a narrow asphalt road, stuck between a field and a ditch, Tristan Merle swerves to his left for an undetermined reason, just as a car is coming in the opposite direction.
The shock is terrible and Tristan dies instantly. An investigation is open to determine the exact circumstances of the accident.
The small world of cycling is in shock, particularly the Angoulême Vélo Club where Tristan Merle has been competing since November 2024 from CO La Couronne.
Originally from Charmant, a small village south of Angoulême, Tristan came to cycling somewhat by chance. “I discovered cycling during confinement with my father, because it was the only sport I could practice,” he said in July 2024 on the Vienne Cyclisme Formation Instagram account. In the end, I loved it and joined a club shortly after. »
A final year student at Nelson-Mandela high school in Poitiers, Tristan was starting his third year in sport studies with a cycling option. His specialty was mathematics, physics and SVT.
Since September 2024, Tristan Merle has discovered road events. “He came from the world of mountain biking and wanted to try out the road and other demands,” says Mélina Bossis, co-president of the Angoulême Vélo Club in Charente Libre.
“Tristan still had a lot to accomplish on the bike. His career, which was cut short too soon, will remain that of a young athlete in constant progress driven by a love of cycling,” continues the manager.
Tristan will leave the image of a boy “passionate, invested, deeply driven by the desire to progress”.
