How Did Lieuwe Westra Die? Dutch Cyclist Cause of Death Explained
Lieuwe Westra Death Cause: Retired Dutch pro-Lieuwe Westra has died at 40.
What Happened to Lieuwe Westra ?
The news was confirmed Sunday morning by his biographer Thomas Sijtsma.
“Lieuwe Westra passed away on Saturday afternoon. The former cyclist fought with himself in recent years and lost,” Sijtsma wrote. “Rest in peace, beast.”
Westra retired at the start of 2017, citing depression. He has since suffered difficult years that included divorce and the sale of the cycling hotel he developed with his former wife.
He was found dead Saturday in Zwaagdijk, the Netherlands. The cause of death has not been confirmed.
Zaterdagmiddag is Lieuwe Westra (40) overleden. De voormalig wielrenner vocht de laatste jaren met zichzelf en verloor.
Rust zacht, Beest. pic.twitter.com/hsVgWZQQNJ
— Thomas Sijtsma (@ThomasSijtsma) January 15, 2023
Lieuwe Westra Cause of Death
The new cover by the Dutch media was revealed by his biographer. Lieuwe Westra, a former cyclist who worked for Astana and Vacansoleil-DMC, died on Saturday afternoon at the age of 40.
Former Dutch cyclist Lieuwe Westra in the 2012 Paris-Nice, has died aged 40 after a life-long battle with depression, his biographer and Dutch media announced on Sunday.
Nicknamed ‘the Beast’ for his unrelenting riding style Westra’s body was found at his business premises on Saturday near the northwest Dutch city of Enkhuizen, local broadcaster Omrop Fryslan said, quoting family sources.
Who was Lieuwe Westra ?
Lieuwe Westra was a Dutch professional racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2006 and 2016 for the KrolStonE Continental Team, Vacansoleil–DCM, and Astana teams.
Westra, a Mûnein native, came in second place at the 2012 Paris-Nice, a UCI World Tour race, and he also took first place on the queen stage to Mende. This particular stage culminated at the top of the 3 km (1.9 mi) long Côte de la Croix-Neuve-Montée Laurent Jalabert, which has an average gradient of 10.1%.
He launched his attack within the last kilometer, and the lead group led by race leader Bradley Wiggins was unable to catch up with him. He freewheeled across the finish line, leading to speculation that he would have been able to pass Wiggins for the lead jersey had he continued his effort. The victory put him 6 seconds behind Wiggins.
He would finish Paris-Nice 8 seconds down on the Briton in the general classification. In August, Westra won the overall classification of the 2012 Danmark Rundt, a six-stage race held in Denmark
Westra Nicknamed “The Beast”
Nicknamed “The Beast,” Westra raced with Vacansoleil and Astana through his 11-year career and scored 13 victories through the turn of the last decade.
Stage wins at Paris-Nice, Tour of California, and Critérium du Dauphiné highlight his palmarès alongside GC victories at the Tour of Denmark and the Driedaagse De Panne. The Mûnein-born powerhouse also helped pilot teammate Vincenzo Nibali to the yellow jersey at the 2014 Tour de France.
After his retirement, Westra published a no-stone-unturned biography, Het Beest, in which he recalled his instances of doping.
Lieuwe Westra Career Achievements
He won the event’s time trial, helping him seal the victory as it netted him the leader’s jersey, which he would not relinquish. Ramūnas Navardauskas of the Garmin–Barracuda squad finished second with a deficit of 10 seconds
2007 -4th Overall OZ Wielerweekend 1st Stage 2 (ITT)
2014 -1st Stage 7 Volta a Catalunya 1st Stage 7 Critérium du Dauphiné Combativity award Stage 5 Tour de France
2016- 1st Overall Three Days of De Panne
Westra announced his retirement on his Facebook page on January 8, 2017. He wrote “I’ve decided to give up racing today. I am unable to continue. Many thanks to K Snijder and A Boskamp!
Okay, I’ll quit now, but I’ll return later to quickly address these problems. Westra thanks the cycling community “. Later, this post was taken down, but the retirement was announced on the Wanty-Groupe Gobert team’s Twitter account the following day.