'It all paled into insignificance' — Remembering the on the tragedy of Wouter Weylandt's death at the 2011 Giro

The crashes at this year's Giro d'Italia have shaken everyone in the cycling world. They are a reminder of just how badly things can go wrong — and a reason to count our blessings, because it can end so much more tragically. Fifteen years ago, Wouter Weylandt lost his life at the race. For Pieter Weening, it was a Giro he will never forget — and not only for the sadness of it.

The accident happened on 9 May 2011, during stage 3 of the Giro. On the descent of the Passo del Bocco, Weylandt's foot and pedal struck a low concrete guard rail at the roadside. He was thrown to the other side of the road and hit a second obstacle. He died at the scene.

In honour of Weylandt, Lidl-Trek — the team that grew from the same roots as his Leopard Trek squad — wore black armbands in stage 2 of this year's race. The number WW 108 — his initials and race number — has not been used at the Giro since that day.

Weening will never forget what he witnessed. "That left a deep impression on everyone at the time," the Dutchman told Sporza, who was also present at that year's Giro. "I can still remember seeing someone lying in the road on that descent. You could see immediately that it didn't look right. We were roughly the same generation. It's tragic to see something like that happen."

For the current Jayco AlUla sports director, it was an extraordinarily strange edition of the race. Stage 4 was cancelled, but stage 5 became Weening's — riding for Rabobank at the time. He crossed the line in Fiuggi eight seconds ahead of the favourites group, claiming his first stage victory in Italy. It also handed him the maglia rosa, which he would hold for four days.

But there was no celebration. "As a rider, it was of course a huge success for me — but that evening, we didn't celebrate the victory at all," Weening recalls. "There was a very strange aftertaste, given everything that had happened in the days before and on that very day. My teammate Tom-Jelte Slagter had also crashed badly."

"As a team, we couldn't enjoy it — even though it was one of the highlights of my career. It all paled into insignificance compared to what had happened. It was a very difficult time." Weening gave the pink jersey — the physical one awarded to him on the podium — to Weylandt's parents. Later, the Belgian's race number was permanently retired. Weening sees that as a fitting tribute.

"It's a beautiful way of honouring the rider and the person he was. A new generation of riders is racing now, but among the followers of the sport, most people will still know what happened back then. The circus moves on — but we must not forget what happened."