Mowed down on her bike by a car. Baby champion dies. She was training with her brother

Yet another tragedy on the roads strikes at the heart of the cycling world. A very young woman loses her life. Sarah Piffer she was just 19 years old and was a promising Italian. She was hit by a car in Mezzocorona, in Trentino, around 11.30:2023 yesterday. Originally from Palù di Giovo, in the Cembra valley, after her debut at Velo Sport Mezzocorona, Piffer had started racing for Mendelspeck, with which last year she managed to win in Corridonia (Macerata) and to place second in the Trentino time trial of Verla-Maso Roncador. In 18, among the juniors, she placed sixth in the time trial at the Italian championships, eighth in the road race, 19th in the under-2021 World Championships and at the Gand-Wevelgem in her category. "An excellent road racer and also good on the track, Sara was vice-champion of Italy in the Madison in XNUMX", we read on the website 'Tuttobiciweb'.

The accident occurred on Via Cesare Battisti, one of the roads that connect the towns of Mezzocorona and Mezzolombardo. According to an initial reconstruction, a car driven by a 70-year-old, who was going in the opposite direction and was overtaking another car, hit the young woman. Her brother Christian, an amateur, was also training with her and was slightly injured. Despite the intervention of the 118 helicopter and attempts to resuscitate her, there was nothing that could be done for the young woman.

The Trento Public Prosecutor's Office has opened a case for road murder. In Trentino it is the second fatal accident in less than a year involving a young cycling hopeful. On May 9th, Matteo Lorenzi, a 17-year-old junior from the Montecorona club, was hit by a van that did not give way. Piffer is the ninth cycling victim on Italian roads since the beginning of the year, according to data from the Sapidata-Asaps Observatory, the Association of Supporters and Friends of the Highway Police. The victims are seven men and two women. The regions most affected are Lazio, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto, with two deaths each, followed by Lombardy. Marche and Trentino, with one victim. In 2023, 212 cyclists died, according to Istat data, and last year 204, according to the preliminary estimate by Asaps. And the issue of safety of two-wheeled athletes, with their training necessarily carried out on the normal road network. The memory of Davide Rebellin, the champion who was hit and killed at the age of 51 by a truck in a roundabout in 2022, is always strong.

Many messages of condolence from the cycling world. Federal President Cordiano Dagnoni expressed in a note "deep sympathy to the family and friends of Sara, a young promise of our sport whose life was tragically cut short too soon. This tragic event requires serious reflection, as we have been asking for some time, so that concrete measures are adopted to put an end to these episodes".

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