03/11/03 by Jim Mullins
Yesterday (March 11th) during the Paris-Nice stage race in France Andrei Kivilev crashed and died. He was about forty kilometers from the finish of the stage when he touched wheels with another rider and lost control. He went down with his forehead and face taking the brunt of the impact. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he slipped into a coma. Doctors worked to reduce the swelling of the brain but ultimately were unsuccessful. He passed away yesterday evening. He was only 29 years old and leaves behind a family. It is truly a sad and tragic day. What makes it even more tragic is the fact that he was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. The doctors believe that he most likely would have been saved had he been wearing his helmet. The location of his injuries were in an area that would have been protected by his helmet. Please be a responsible rider to yourself, your families, and your club, WEAR your helmet. This should hold true whether you are training or racing. Ultimately it just isn't worth not wearing it.
Please take a moment of silence for Andrei Kivilev.