A promising 19-year-old cyclist, Sara Piffer, was killed during a training ride in Italy when she was hit by an overtaking driver. The incident has sparked outrage and calls for stricter road safety laws and better driver education in the country.
“The roads aren’t dangerous, drivers who don’t respect others’ lives are”: Anger and calls for road safety reform, education in “Wild West” Italy after teenage racing cyclist killed by overtaking motorist during training ride
Piffer was treated by paramedics at the scene and taken to hospital by helicopter, where it was confirmed that she died from her injuries. Her brother Christian, an amateur racer, suffered only minor injuries in the crash. According to Mendelspeck team director Renato Pirrone, Piffer – who he described as a “fantastic, really motivated person” – had asked her parents for a year’s break from her academic studies to pursue a full-time racing career with the squad.
“It has ‘winner’ on the front and she dedicated that success to Matteo Lorenzi, who was killed last year. Sara was always a winner for me, but she died in the arms of her brother. “Maybe to gain that minute they put other people’s lives at risk. I see things getting worse on the roads.” According to the Italian government’s official statistics, 204 cyclists were killed on Italy’s roads in 2024, while 197 were killed in 2023.
“The roads are not dangerous,” Valerio Bianco, a press officer at RCS Sport, the organisers of the Giro d’Italia, said on social media. “Those who do not respect the rules, those who do not take into account the lives of others, are dangerous. Local cyclist Martina Centomo added: “Sara Piffer was killed by a motorist, not a car. Let’s not remove blame and responsibility from those who once again have broken another life. There is really something wrong. More than reform of the Highway Code.
controversial Italian politician and journalist Vittorio Feltri was roundly condemned by the cycling community “Milan continues to develop for the better. With Albertini as mayor, the city had a crazy development. But I believe that the city continues to improve,” Feltri, a prominent Berlusconi supporter who joined current prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing Fratelli d’Italia party in 2021, told the event in September.
Trentin’s intervention was welcomed by his fellow Italian cyclists, with one noting that describing Feltri’s comments as “disrespectful to those who have lost a loved one” while cycling is “an understatement”, and branding them as “insensitive and gratuitous malice”.
CYCLING ROAD SAFETY ITALY FATALITY DRIVER EDUCATION LAWS
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