It is not often that sport is associated with death. But when death happens during a sports activity, it is always a big tragedy.

We have had deaths in several disciplines, most notably boxing. But other athletes have succumbed to injuries or illnesses over the years. Football players have died on the pitch when their heart could not take it anymore, while car racing drivers have died following accidents at high speed.

This week, we had 26-year-old cyclist Wouter Weylandt dying during the third stage of the Italian Tour after he hit a wall and falling off his bike. Efforts to keep him alive proved fruitless and, after 40 minutes of heart massage and other treatment, the Belgian rider was proclaimed dead on the spot.

The protective helmet he was wearing was not enough to save him as the injuries to the face and head were too severe.

That particular stage – the incident happened 20 kilometres from the finish – continued but, the following day, the riders taking part in the competition paid their respects by not competing against each other, but by forming a procession led by the team-mates of the fallen rider. They joined hands on the finish line in what was certainly an emotional day for cycling and sport in general. His team, Leopard-Trek, later withdrew from the Giro.

It was a sad day but, as his father told the media afterwards, the sport must go on “in memory of my son”. It must have been hard for a parent to react in this way.

The questions that are raised in these circumstances are always the same: What could have been done to avoid such a tragedy? Was the road safe enough? Should cyclists wear improved protective gear?

What is certain is that first aid was available within seconds, but in spite of the great efforts by the medical team Wouter – as it was later revealed after the autopsy – had died on impact.

Over the past years, cycling has often been in the bad books of sport, mostly because of doping cases that have tarnished the sport. Incidents such as these give a further blow to the discipline.

It is a tough sport – it has been calculated that the top professionals cycle for more than 40,000 kilometres every year, and are paid much less than athletes of other disciplines. The cycling authorities should do their utmost to make it a safe sport as much as possible, but this is not always done. Two days after Wouter’s death, there were several other falls because the roads used for the race were full of gravel. Luckily, no-one was injured badly, but lessons need to be learned quickly.