The tragic death of Fabio Casartelli

For Hennie Kuiper, 1995 will be a special year, but not in a positive way. One event deeply affects him and the entire cycling world: the death of Motorola rider Fabio Casartelli. The Italian had made a name for himself in the spotlight as the Olympic champion in 1992. That Olympic title also strongly resonated with Hennie’s feelings. Twenty years earlier, Kuiper had cycled to Olympic gold in Munich himself. In the race in Barcelona, Casartelli had left Erik Dekker behind. This earned him a contract for 1993 with Ceramiche Ariostea, the ceramics manufacturer that had riders under contract such as Bjarne Riis, Rolf Järmann, Pascal Richard, Alberto Elli, and the later cycling commentator Davide Cassani.

Casartelli rode for ZG Mobili in 1994 and then, after two rather anonymous years, ended up at Motorola in 1995. Kuiper knew him as a gentle rider. ‘He couldn’t really adapt to the professional environment. That’s when Maximo Testa, the Italian cycling doctor we worked with, recommended him to us. We took him on and saw potential to achieve something with him.’

Casartelli is included in Motorola’s Tour team. Although the American team does not achieve particularly outstanding results, the team still prepares eagerly on July 18 for the queen stage, an extremely tough Pyrenees challenge over six grueling cols, leading from Saint-Girons to Cauterets.

The first col of any significance is the Col de Portet d’Aspet, not extremely difficult but already tough enough to relegate numerous non-climbers in the peloton to the depths of the rear. The descent is tricky, not because the corners are difficult to navigate, but because the steep road tempts extreme high speeds. The dive towards the foot of the mountain is at a breathtaking pace. It goes fast, faster, fastest. Sharp steering along rock walls and ravines. The riders rush into the 34th kilometer. The road turns left, a difficult bend with a very steep descent. There is almost no way to brake. And then… A man slides out, towards the white concrete blocks, the barrier with the ravine. Like skittles, six riders behind him crash to the ground. At full speed. Two riders slide between the rocks into the ravine. The other five, including Johan Museeuw and Erik Breukink, lie dazed and/or injured on the hot asphalt. At the back lies a rider in a Motorola shirt. His head has hit a white concrete pole. A pole that, ironically, is meant to save lives. He bounces back onto the road and lies in a fetal position on the asphalt. Blood gushes from a head wound.

Erik Breukink realizes immediately: ‘That doesn’t look good for that Motorola guy.’

It’s only hours later at the finish line when NOS reporter Jeroen Wielaert tells him about Casartelli’s death that Breukink understands how serious it is. Breukink is shaken by this news, as everyone in and around the peloton is that day. ‘Damn,’ is the first bewildered response from the ONCE rider. Then there is silence for a moment. It takes seconds before Breukink manages to compose himself.

Sometimes the Tour de France experiences dark days. Pitch black.

Hennie Kuiper is behind the wheel of the team car as he hears what he so often hears through Tour radio: ‘Chute dans le peloton.’ Fall in the peloton. Unfortunately, it’s part of cycling’s job description. But worry grips him by the throat when he arrives three, four or maybe five minutes later at the bloody scene. ‘I saw that it was very, very serious.’ He stays briefly, goes back to the car and sees Casartelli’s body changing color.

Panic. Fear. Tour doctors arrive. The trauma helicopter lands and Casartelli is airlifted to Tarbes hospital. Below, he leaves others stunned and groggy between a little hope and much fear. Two other injured riders are pulled out of the ravine: German Dirk Baldinger with a broken pelvis and Frenchman Dante Rezze, who not only has severe bruises but also a broken left thigh bone. Italian Giancarlo Perini escapes with wounds on both sides of his body.

The NOS Radio Tour de France reporter on Raymond Nackaerts’ motorbike is Jacob Bergsma. ‘I remember that descent of Portet d’Aspet very well. Raymond and I passed by the accident slowly because the descent was neutralized. I didn’t see much because Raymond was terrified of crashes; he wanted to move on, away from that scene of disaster; he didn’t want to see it anymore. At that time we didn’t know how fatal it would be for Casartelli. It was extremely hot that day; the asphalt was melting spontaneously. Sometimes with the motorbike you would slide completely and scrape off a piece of asphalt from the road surface just like that. I remember Raymond saying to me in the descent of Portet d’Aspet after we had left behind us: “It’s good they neutralize this descent; otherwise there could have been deaths today.” It was much later when we heard via Radio Tour that Casartelli had died; devastation all around us; my only reaction was: I cried…’

On the background, the peloton waits to let the Motorola team pass as a group in Pau. From left to right: Steve Bauer, Alvaro Mejia, Frankie Andreu, Andrea Peron, Stephen Swart, and Lance Armstrong. It is Peron who has received the instruction 'keep riding' from Casartelli's wife in a phone call. Casartelli's roommate may cross the finish line one meter ahead of the group and thus have the 'stage win' credited to Casartelli.

On July 21, in the 18th stage with Limoges as the finish, Lance Armstrong rides so incredibly fast that Hennie Kuiper in the car has to slow him down rather than encourage him. Armstrong only wants one thing: to dedicate the stage victory to Casartelli. He wins brilliantly. Pay attention to Armstrong's left sleeve. The Motorola team wears a kind of mourning bands in the shape of a black patch.

In Limoges, Armstrong - pointing to the sky at the finish line - dedicates his victory to Fabio Casartelli

Sad news

The Tour continues. Leading the way is Frenchman Richard Virenque. He is unaware of the tragedy that has unfolded on the Col de Portet d’Aspet. The helicopter has now reached the hospital in Tarbes. A few minutes later, a sad message is broadcast over Radio Tour:

‘Le coureur Casartelli est decédé dans l’hôpital de Tarbes.’

Casartelli was not wearing a helmet. In those days, it was not yet mandatory. His helmet was in the car with Kuiper. Tour doctor Gérard Porte explains that a helmet would not have helped him as he was hit directly in the face and had no chance of survival. This opinion is later contradicted by the examining doctor Michel Disteldorf. Disteldorf’s investigation reveals a severe impact to the top of the skull, causing multiple skull fractures, but no facial injuries. In his opinion, some injuries could have been avoided by wearing a helmet. But for Casartelli, it is too late.

Hennie Kuiper: ‘I was completely in a trance. The stage went over all those cols, over the Tourmalet. I didn’t notice anything. Eventually, we arrived at Luz Ardiden. That was shocking. The music was still playing loudly. Virenque came to the podium and was celebrated as if nothing had happened. The Coca-Cola girls were kissing as usual. It was surreal.’ The Motorolas spend that night in Pau. Hennie Kuiper and Jim Ochowicz visit the hospital. ‘There lay Fabio, laid out in a small room. Those were difficult moments for us.’ Later, they return to the hotel. ‘The whole team was devastated. Completely defeated. But we had to make a decision that same evening. What are we going to do? Stop? Continue?’

Team doctor Maximo Testa stays in touch with Casartelli’s wife, Annelisa. The Italian teammate of the deceased rider, Andrea Peron, has already heard from Annelisa: ‘You must continue.’ Opinions within the team are divided. The younger riders want to continue; the older, more experienced riders opt to stop. Then George Noise, the chief mechanic, speaks up. ‘Guys, we have to continue. Then we have support from each other. That is also the will of the bereaved in these cases.’ The team agrees with Noise’s proposal.

Ochowicz, the manager-team leader, travels to Italy to attend the funeral on behalf of the team. Hennie Kuiper is now in charge at Motorola. The day after the disastrous stage, a mountain stage from Tarbes to Pau covering 237 kilometers is scheduled. But there is no racing. Casartelli’s bike is placed with a mourning ribbon on top of Kuiper’s car. It will remain there until Paris. The riders wear mourning ribbons. The peloton rides silently, with a solemn pedal stroke towards Pau. It is a tribute to the deceased rider. Hennie: ‘We took eight hours for that stage. I can hardly remember any of it. Everyone was shaken.’ As they approach the finish line, rider and future TV commentator Davide Cassani from Team MG Maglificio makes a proposal. ‘We let the Motorola boys ride ahead, side by side across the finish line.’ And so it happens. The six Motorolas cross the finish line together. Broken. There is no music. There is no celebration.

There is respectful silence. And the audience respectfully remains silent too.

The next day reveals once again that Lance Armstrong also has another, almost forgotten side to him. This is not the later Armstrong of deceit and of almost tyrannical orders for teammates to dope themselves. This is Lance of the fight against cancer, the man who has been a comfort to thousands of patients and raised millions of dollars for cancer research. When Hennie Kuiper visits Armstrong’s room the next morning, the American tells him: ‘I’m done. I’m completely shattered.’ The team leader replies: ‘You can’t do that. We all decided to go to Paris together. You can’t drop out.’

Lance Armstrong joins the team and finishes in Bordeaux. Another day later, the stage Montpon-Ménestérol-Limoges takes place. A group of riders breaks away. Lance Armstrong is among them, more determined than ever before. Kuiper: ‘He attacked. He was unstoppable. Lance kept going on and on. I’ve been a team leader for eight years and I’ve never had to hold back any of my riders, but with Lance I had to intervene, calm him down. He was so aggressive. Sparks were flying off him. He wanted to win for his comrade.’ And he wins for Fabio. In the final meters, two fingers point towards heaven as Armstrong pays tribute to his beloved teammate. On the day of Casartelli’s funeral, all flags at start and finish are flown at half-mast. Sponsor Motorola also has flags flown at half-mast at all its locations worldwide. Subsequently, on Motorola’s initiative, funds are raised for a foundation for widow Annelisa and a fund to finance son Marco’s education. A monument has been erected at the site of Casartelli’s fall on Col de Portet d’Aspet, with a hole cut into it. Every year on July 18th, sunlight shines precisely through that hole at the time when Fabio Casartelli had his fatal fall. Sunbeams mark the scene of tragedy.

The emotional Hennie Kuiper needs months to come to terms with Casartelli’s shocking death. 1995 has not been a particularly cheerful year for Hennie. On April 5th, his marriage is dissolved and on July 18th Fabio Casartelli passes away.

In Pau, a minute of silence is held for Fabio Casartelli. Hennie Kuiper has his gaze directed towards the sky. All the way to the right, UCI jury member Wim Jeremiasse bites his lip. To the right of Hennie, Paul Sherwen bows his head and Alain Bondue stares into the endless distance. Casartelli's teammates are Canadian Steve Bauer and New Zealander Stephen Swart, who wear a black armband as a sign of mourning.

In the Tour of 1996, the entire peloton plus the followers' caravan of the Tour de France pay a great tribute to Fabio Casartelli. At the Portet d'Aspet, a white winged monument preserves the memory of the Olympic champion.

Testicular Cancer

For Hennie Kuiper, 1996 will be the last year in his career as a team director. Lance Armstrong shows his class in the spring when on April 17, 1996, the Fleche Wallonne is raced. Armstrong reaches the top of the Mur de Huy alone, after dropping Didier Rous in the climb. Armstrong makes a very strong impression. However, things can change. Months later that year, Hennie Kuiper is on his way to the World Championships in Lugano by car. The phone rings. Jim Ochowicz is on the other end of the line. “Hennie, are you behind the wheel?” “Yes,” comes the answer. “Then pull over the car for a moment. I need to tell you something.”

Kuiper steers his car to the side of the road. Ochowicz: “Lance has testicular cancer.” It is a new shock. Although it is already known that Motorola is discontinuing the cycling team, although the whole cycling world already knows that Lance Armstrong has signed a contract with the French sponsor Cofidis, this news hits Hennie Kuiper hard.

After Stuttgart and Motorola in 1997, a new adventure as a team director with another sponsor? The opportunities are not abundant. He is also not aggressively pursuing a team. Kuiper has looked around once. He sees graying men behind the steering wheels of team cars. Does he want to become that old? Slowly but surely, the idea gains ground that it is time to take a new path, but still something within his world: sports. But which direction will it take? Time will tell.

The 97th edition of the Tour de France starts in 2010 from the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam and in the 15th stage from Pamiers to Bagnères-de-Luchon over the Portet d’Aspet. There, as a silent witness to a recent tragedy in cycling, stands the monument in memory of Fabio Casartelli. The five riders passing by are from left to right: Thomas Lövkvist (Sky), Jakob Fuglsang (Saxo Bank), Christophe Moreau (Caisse d’Epargne), Mario Aerts (Omega Pharma-Lotto) and… Lance Armstrong (Radioshack)