Friends, family, colleagues and supporters of Bjorg Lambrecht gathered in the village of Knesselare, Belgium on Tuesday as the Lotto Soudal rider was laid to rest in the Church of Saint Willibrordus. Hundreds of people turned out to say their final goodbyes to Lambrecht, with over 500 people gathered outside the church in his hometown to watch the funeral service on a big screen. Lambrecht died after falling during stage 3 of the Tour de Pologne last Monday. The 22-year-old Belgian hit a concrete culvert after going off-road, suffering severe liver lacerations which led to a cardiac arrest. ADVERTISEMENT Five of Lambrecht`s Lotto Soudal teammates, as well as former teammate André Greipel, carried his coffin into the church, while at the BinckBank Tour, Lotto riders raced wearing black wristbands. The BinckBank Tour peloton will observe a minute´s silence on Wednesday´s stage 3, and a flower wreath will be laid outside his supporter´s café in the Knesselare. `This is a big loss,` said Lotto team manager Marc Sargeant to Sporza. `It will take a long time before we process it. In any case, Bjorg will stay with us in the team forever.` Lambrecht`s Lotto Soudal teammates - excluding those at the BinckBank Tour - were present at the service, as were a number of luminaries from Belgian cycling, including Walter Godefroot and President of the Belgian Cycling Federation, Tom Van Damme. UCI President David Lappartient also attended. - Griet Langedock (@GrietLangedock) August 13, 2019 - BinckBank Tour (@BinckBankTour) August 13, 2019 - Sporza - Tour de Pologne (@Tour_de_Pologne) August 13, 2019
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