Italian Rider Dies In Tour De France Crash -- Team Motorola Rider Casartelli Falls During Descent At 55 Mph

CAUTERETS, France - Italian cyclist Fabio Casartelli was killed today when he crashed at high speed on a mountain pass, becoming the third rider to die in the history of the Tour de France.

Casartelli, 24, of the American team Motorola, was one of several riders who failed to negotiate a steep curve during the descent from the Col de Portet d'Aspet in the Pyrenees.

With the riders traveling at speeds near 55 mph, Casartelli appeared to hit a concrete post on the side of the road and fell heavily onto the pavement.

"It was a fairly fast descent," said French rider Francois Simon, who was behind Casartelli. "At a certain point, there was a longer curve than the others. Casartelli couldn't make the turn. I think it was his back wheel which hit the side, and he flew in the air."

Casartelli was unconscious when he was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Tarbes, where he was pronounced dead 30 minutes later.

"I arrived 10 seconds after the fall," said Gerard Porte, chief medical officer of the tour. "I could tell it was a serious injury. . . . We did everything in the best conditions and as fast as we could. But he had very serious cuts, and when there's such heavy bleeding you know it was very powerful impact."

Race director Jean-Marie Leblanc announced the death of Casartelli on the tour's official radio.

"Dr. Nicolet, who was with him in the helicopter, called me and told me that their revival attempts were unsuccesful," he said. "Casartelli had three cardiac arrests in the helicopter.

"It's terrible for the Motorola team, for Italian cycling and for the Tour de France."

It was the third death on the Tour de France since it began in 1903. In 1967, British world champion Tom Simpson collapsed during a mountain climb on an extremely hot day. In 1935, Spanish rider Francesco Cepeda was killed when he fell into a ravine.

Today's accident occurred 18 1/2 miles into the 15th stage, a 128-mile ride from St. Girons to Cauteret.

Also injured were Germany's Dirk Baldinger of the Polti team and Italy's Dante Rezze of the AKI team. They were taken to the hospital in Saint-Gaudens, where doctors said Rezze had a thigh injury and Baldinger had a fractured hip.

Casartelli was not wearing a helmet, which is sure to reopen debate over whether headgear should be mandatory.

"It's an issue that will come to the forefront again," said Alfredo Martini, head of the Italian national cycling team. "It's time to deal with this issue seriously."

Casartelli, who was married and had a four-month-old son, was the Olympic champion in the road race at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

In his first pro season in 1993 with Ariostea, he won a stage in the Settimana Bergamasca and had three second-place finishes in stages of the Tour of Switzerland.

"We raced together with Ariostea," said Bjarne Riis of Denmark, currently third in the standings. "It's very sad. I knew him very well and he was a very nice young man."

The following year Casartelli raced with the Italian team GB-MG but a knee injury followed by corrective surgery kept him from competing much of the season.

Today's stage was won by Richard Virenque of France. He took the lead early in the day and finished 1 minute, 17 seconds ahead of Italy's Claudio Chiappucci.

Miguel Indurain, seeking his fifth consecutive Tour victory, made a move at the end of the stage to finish eighth, about 2:34 behind, with Switzerland's Alex Zulle right behind.

Indurain leads Zulle by 2:44 in the overall standings. Lance Armstrong riding for the Motorola team, finished 64th today and was 39th overall, 1:29:16 back. Tomorrow's 16th stage is from Tarbes to Pau, 147 miles, with two major climbs.

The Tour ends Sunday.

French television ended its coverage of Tuesday's stage showing Casartelli crossing the finish line in his 1992 Olympic victory, and on the medal podium with cheers of "Fabio! Fabio!" in the background.