Words on Weylandt

I'll let the words of those who knew Wouter Weylandt and those who are more skilful scribblers express their sentiment about the man and the sometimes cruel nature of professional road racing, writes Philip Gomes.

I'm unable to write something meaningful on the death of Wouter Weylandt. Better to let the words of those who knew him and those who are more skilful scribblers express their sentiment about the man and the sometimes cruel nature of professional road racing.

Tyler Farrar

I am unbearably saddened by the loss of Wouter today. As many know, he was my friend, training partner, and in many ways, another brother to me. His death marks an irreparable change in my life but more importantly, in the lives of his family and most loved. Wouter was one of the kindest, funniest, and most admirable people I have ever had the opportunity to know and his death is a tragedy to his family, his friends, and to the sport as a whole.

Bike Snob NYC

It hardly needs to be said that as cyclists and fans we'd trade anything to have Weylandt back on his bike and in the race. We'd give the jerseys off our backs, we'd give our bikes out from under us, and we'd gladly suffer the indignity of a thousand years of Grand Tour winner doping scandals. All of that stuff seems impossibly small when something like this happens.

Johan Bruyneel

To be a professional cyclist, you need to love it, otherwise you wouldn't subject yourself to the training, suffering, long bus rides, uncomfortable hotel beds, etc. It's not what you would call the most luxurious lifestyle. But it's the life that so many of us have chosen to lead simply because of our love for the bicycle. And while Wouter was taken way too early from us, he was doing what he loved. Not many people can say that.

Bonnie D Ford

The risks in road cycling at this level are truly beyond comprehension for those of us who don't do it for a living. We tend to focus on the strength, endurance and tactics required in the climbs and the reflexes it takes to survive and prosper in bunch sprints because they easily translate to television, which is how 99 percent of us see races.

Joe Lindsey

We think of construction as a dangerous job. But pro cycling is, even among sports like auto racing and football, one of the most perilous. I've mentioned before that Dan Coyle, in his book "Lance Armstrong's War" calculated that in any given season, a pro cyclist ran a roughly 25 percent chance of sustaining a crash-based injury severe enough to keep him off the bike for at least a couple of weeks.

Vale Wouter Weylandt

Follow Phil on Twitter: @Lycra_Lout