Vandenbroucke died of natural causes

Eurosport - Sat, 17 Oct 11:09:00 2009

Belgian cyclist Franck Vandenbroucke died of a double pulmonary embolism combined with an existing heart problem, according to his autopsy in Senegal.

2007 radsport Frank Vandenbroucke ist des Bestizes von Dopingmitteln angeklagt worden. - 0

Vandenbroucke, 34, was found dead earlier this week in his hotel room in the Senegalese resort of Saly where he had been on holiday with cyclist friend Fabio Polazzi.

According to the Belgian newspapers Het Laatste Nieuws and Het Nieuwsblad, investigators concluded that Vandenbroucke died a natural death and his body had now been released for a return to Belgium.

The rider suffered a "double pulmonary embolism as well as having an existing heart problem", Salobe Ngingie, the public prosecutor for the Thies region overseeing the probe, told Het Nieuwsblad.

"The autopsy showed that deceased had several injection marks on his left arm," Ngingie said, adding that a syringe, alcohol and medicines were found in Vandenbroucke's hotel room.

Vandenbroucke made his professional debut in 1994 and recorded 51 victories, including the 1999 Liege-Bastogne-Liege classic, his career highlight.

In 2002, Vandenbroucke was twice stopped by police under the influence of alcohol at the wheel of a car. Later that year, a police search at his home uncovered a large quantity of doping substances.

Vandenbroucke had suffered from depression and two years ago tried to commit suicide after his wife said she was divorcing him.

In 2003, when he rode for the Quick Step team, Vandenbroucke appeared to be on the way back after a second-place finish in the prestigious Tour of Flanders classic, but he sank into depression the following year.

AFP

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  1. well looks like mr.wiggins also likes cow blood...lol.­ Wonder how he'll perform with CJD??

    From sloflowrida, on Tue 20 Oct 1:33AM

  2. Strong hearts, but no "brains". I guess that­ is what I should have said. Yea, I saw the part with­ the needle marks. I guess you always try to think that­ they didn't use, but than again most of them do. It­ is still a shame.

    From bikedad_99, on Mon 19 Oct 8:07PM

  3. It is called DOPING!

    From Willy Voet, on Mon 19 Oct 8:05PM
  4. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Do not be surprised when Lance has a stroke!

    Cow blood­ can kill too!

    From Willy Voet, on Mon 19 Oct 8:05PM
  5. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Natural for a blood doper that is.

    He joins Pantani,­ Zanette,Zanoli, Larsen, Virmaut, Jimenez, et­ al...

    Nike Lance almost killed himself with STEROIDS­ boosted Cancer tumors.

    From Willy Voet, on Mon 19 Oct 8:03PM

  6. Where's the outrage?

    When will the UCI and every­ other cycling 'governing-body' really unit­ against doping and deal with the problem ruthlessly?­ Frank V. was suspected of doping several years­ ago...right, okay, prove to me he wasn't­ 'hooked'? I have long opined to my cycling­ friends that the governing body's, both national­ and international, should not suspend but ban violators­ for life. The idea is to make examples out of every­ violator and, figurtively speaking, shoot violators to­ keep everyone else in line. And it's not everyone­ who's tempted to dope...but the bad apples make the­ whole sport look very very bad.

    Yes, it is sad. Frank­ was an incredible talent. "Natural­ causes"...impossible.

    From Jim, on Mon 19 Oct 5:50PM

  7. The use of EPO can cause blood clots, resulting in­ pulmonary emboli. Like the two that killed­ Vandenbroucke. If I ever want to get away with murder­ I think Senegal is the place. "Natural­ causes"?

    From Cheese Curtain, on Mon 19 Oct 5:31AM

  8. Hey, bikedad ... Strong hearts? Certainly. Able to­ withstand rigorous training & hard climbing?­ Absolutely. Impervious to drugs, hormone, and other­ miscellaneous substance abuse? Not so much ...
    The­ report - from Senegal - says "natural causes"­ but mentions needle tracks on his arm, drink, and­ (ahem) medicines in his room.
    If the result is 4, and­ one factor is 2, it's a decent bet the missing­ factor is 2.

    He was a troubled man who had potential,­ but went through cycles of depressions,­ self-destructive behavior, and recovery. Sadly, it­ looks like Mijnheer Vandenbroucke crashed out on this­ lap.

    From l3nsm4n, on Mon 19 Oct 1:03AM

  9. Hey, bikedad ... String hearts? Certainly. Able to­ withstand rigorous training & hard climbing?­ Absolutely. Impervious to drugs, hormone, and other­ miscellaneous substance abuse? Not so much ...
    The­ report - from Senegal - says "natural causes"­ but mentions needle tracks on his arm, drink, and­ (ahem) medicines in his room.
    If the result is 4, and­ one factor is 2, it's a decent bet the missing­ factor is 2.

    He was a troubled man who had potential,­ but went through cycles of depressions,­ self-destructive behavior, and recovery. Sadly, it­ looks like Mijnheer Vandenbroucke crashed out on this­ lap.

    From l3nsm4n, on Mon 19 Oct 1:02AM

  10. Is it just my imagination, or do so many cyclist die­ from heart related problems??? To die so young is very­ tragic. You would think that to be a great cyclist you­ would need a good heart. It would be interesting to­ know how many former cyclist passed away from heart­ related problems. I had heard that many die in their­ sleep.

    From bikedad_99, on Sun 18 Oct 1:40PM

  11. Tragic - what a great rider he was Rip.

    From Kevin M, on Sun 18 Oct 10:35AM

  12. What a waste of a great talent. Rest in peace, God­ knows you found little enough of it in life.

    From gavin.gilbert, on Sat 17 Oct 4:42PM

  13. Tragic - however you look at it. Rip.

    From Dorit, on Sat 17 Oct 11:50AM
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