Michael Goolaerts

Michael Goolaerts
	Michael Goolaerts (2017)
To person
Nickname	Goolie
Date of birth	July 24, 1994
date of death	April 8, 2018
nation	Belgium
discipline	Road / train
Team (s)
2014 ; 2017-2018	Vérandas Willems ; Vérandas Willems-Crelan
	Last updated: July 4th, 2018

Michael Goolaerts (born July 24, 1994 in Lier ; † April 8, 2018 in Lille ) was a Belgian cyclist.

Athletic career

In 2009 Michael Goolaerts finished second in a test time trial in Borlo , and won such a race the following year. In 2012 he was two-time Belgian junior champion on the track , in the team sprint and in the team pursuit .

From August 2013 Goolaerts drove as a stagiaire for the Verandas Willems team , where he stayed until the end of 2014. From August 2016 he was also a stagiaire at Lotto Soudal . He won a stage of the Tour du Loir-et-Cher and became Belgian champion in the team time trial . At the Nationale Sluitingsprijs he finished ninth. For the 2017 season he returned to Verandas Willems .

In spring 2018, Goolaerts was ninth at Dwars door West-Vlaanderen and at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne as well as Three Days by De Panne , he finished 20th each.

Heart attack and death

On April 8, 2018, Michael Goolaerts started - in support of his captain Wout Van Aert - in the one-day race Paris – Roubaix . After around 100 kilometers he fell on the second pavé section of this race no.28 from Viesly to Briastre with a slight downhill gradient and remained unconscious several minutes after a cardiac arrest while the race continued. After being resuscitated by paramedics, he was flown in a life-threatening condition by helicopter to the University Hospital (CHU) in Lille . The 23-year-old died there at 10:40 p.m. It was initially unclear whether the cardiac arrest had triggered the fall or vice versa. Cambrai prosecutors ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death. This revealed that Goolaerts had suffered a heart attack before he fell. Further examinations should clarify why the infarction occurred. In July 2018, the Cambrai prosecutor announced that after further investigation, no “prohibited substances” (alcohol, drugs or other medication) had been found in Goolaerts' body.

Commemoration

On Sunday, June 10, 2018, the three-kilometer-long pavé sector Chemin de Saint-Quentin between Viesly and Briastre was named after Goolaerts during a memorial ceremony and a memorial stone was erected.

successes

Street

2016

one stage Tour du Loir-et-Cher
Belgian champion in team time trial (with Stan Dewulf , Senne Leysen , James Shaw , Mathias Van Gompel and Joachim Vanreyten )

train

2012

Belgian junior champion in team sprint (with Laurent Wernimont and Jonas Rickaert ), team pursuit (with Laurent Wernimont, Jonas Rickaert and Aimé De Gendt )

Teams

2013 Vérandas Willems (from August 1st)
2014 Vérandas Willems
2016 Lotto Soudal (from August 1st)
2017 Vérandas Willems-Crelan
2018 Vérandas Willems-Crelan

Web links

Commons : Michael Goolaerts - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Michael Goolaerts in the Radsportseiten.net database

Michael Goolaerts in the ProCyclingStats.com database

Individual evidence

^ Gilles Simon: Peter Sagan remporte Paris-Roubaix, endeuillé par la mort de Michael Goolaerts . In. L'Équipe , April 9, 2018, accessed April 9, 2018 (French).
^ Paris-Roubaix: Cardiac arrest - Drama about professional cyclist Michael Goolaerts (22). In: welt.de . April 8, 2018, accessed April 8, 2018 .
^ Paris-Roubaix: Michael Goolaerts est décédé. In: L'Équipe . April 8, 2018, accessed April 9, 2018 (French). Inquiétude pour Michael Goolaerts, victime d'un malaise en course sur Paris-Roubaix . In: Lequipe.fr, April 8, 2018, updated 3:29 p.m., accessed April 9, 2018 (French).

↑ "... this is no longer worth anything". In: sueddeutsche.de . April 9, 2018, accessed April 10, 2018 .

↑ Morgenvroeg heeft van autopsy Goolaerts plaats in Frankrijk. In: sporza.be. Retrieved April 10, 2018 (Dutch).

↑ VTM Nieuws: Goolaerts suffered cardiac arrest before his fall. In: radsport-news.com. Retrieved April 11, 2018 .

↑ deceased Belgian professional cyclist: Goolaerts suffered heart attack fall. In: Spiegel Online . April 11, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2018 .

↑ verboden Geen materials in lichaam Michael Goolaerts. In: hln.be. July 4, 2018, accessed July 4, 2018 (Dutch).

^ Paris-Roubaix dedicates Secteur Michael Goolaerts. In: cyclingnews.com. June 12, 2018, accessed June 12, 2018 .

^ Paris-Roubaix: un secteur pavé rebaptisé en hommage au coureur belge Michael-Goolaerts. In: france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr. June 10, 2018, accessed June 12, 2018 (French).

personal data
SURNAME	Goolaerts, Michael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Belgian cyclist
DATE OF BIRTH	July 24, 1994
PLACE OF BIRTH	Lier
DATE OF DEATH	April 8, 2018
Place of death	Lille

[1] Gilles Simon: Peter Sagan remporte Paris-Roubaix, endeuillé par la mort de Michael Goolaerts . In. L'Équipe , April 9, 2018, accessed April 9, 2018 (French).

[welt-175270655-2] Paris-Roubaix: Cardiac arrest - Drama about professional cyclist Michael Goolaerts (22). In: welt.de . April 8, 2018, accessed April 8, 2018 .

[3] Paris-Roubaix: Michael Goolaerts est décédé. In: L'Équipe . April 8, 2018, accessed April 9, 2018 (French). Inquiétude pour Michael Goolaerts, victime d'un malaise en course sur Paris-Roubaix . In: Lequipe.fr, April 8, 2018, updated 3:29 p.m., accessed April 9, 2018 (French).

[sz-3937428-4] "... this is no longer worth anything". In: sueddeutsche.de . April 9, 2018, accessed April 10, 2018 .

[sporza-177402-5] Morgenvroeg heeft van autopsy Goolaerts plaats in Frankrijk. In: sporza.be. Retrieved April 10, 2018 (Dutch).

[radsport-108754-6] VTM Nieuws: Goolaerts suffered cardiac arrest before his fall. In: radsport-news.com. Retrieved April 11, 2018 .

[SPON-1202451-7] deceased Belgian professional cyclist: Goolaerts suffered heart attack fall. In: Spiegel Online . April 11, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2018 .

[hln-0441-8] verboden Geen materials in lichaam Michael Goolaerts. In: hln.be. July 4, 2018, accessed July 4, 2018 (Dutch).

[cyclingn--9] Paris-Roubaix dedicates Secteur Michael Goolaerts. In: cyclingnews.com. June 12, 2018, accessed June 12, 2018 .

[francetv-491919-10] Paris-Roubaix: un secteur pavé rebaptisé en hommage au coureur belge Michael-Goolaerts. In: france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr. June 10, 2018, accessed June 12, 2018 (French).