A 17-year-old Malaga cyclist dies after several riders crash during junior road race in Spain's Ribera del Duero

Organisers and competitors in the Vuelta Internacional Junior a la Ribera del Duero cycle race are in mourning. A young 17-year-old cyclist from Colmenar in Malaga province who was participating in the race died yesterday while the ninth edition was in progess, according to sources from the organisation. He was Iván Meléndez Luque, from Colmenar, and a rider for the Tenerife-Cabberty team. The young rider, with great potential, had been included in the race roster at the last minute to replace an injured teammate. The victim was involved in a massive fall at the halfway point of the second stage, which ran between Langa de Duero and the Laguna Negra de Vinuesa, in the province of Soria, specifically at kilometre 66.

According to sources, the fatal accident happened at 12:12pm in El Amogable, located in the municipality of Navaleno. After a multiple crash with more than twenty injured from the 113 riders who took the start, including three seriously injured. The young man who died was taken to the Santa Bárbara Hospital in Soria along with two other seriously injured runners but was reported dead on arrival at the hospital. The other two participants are still being treated in the Soria hospital.

In the absence of sufficient ambulances to ensure the safety of the event continuing, the race organisers decided to halt the stage. Subsequently, the event was definitively suspended, and the cyclists rode in groups to the nearest village.

The brutal crash happened during the second of the three stages that make up the Vuelta Ciclista Junior a la Ribera del Duero, which covers a route of 117 kilometres.

Messages of condolences to the young cyclists family and friends followed after the news of the fatal outcome of the crash. The president of the Junta de Castilla y León, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, expressed his "shock" after hearing the news of the death of the young cyclist in the "fatal accident". "All my love and support to his family, friends, colleagues and Spanish cycling", said the regional leader in a message posted on his profile on the social media network X.

In addition, the Royal Spanish Cycling Federation expressed its condolences. "We deeply regret his death and want to send our deepest condolences to his family, friends and loved ones," it said. Also the mayor of Aranda de Duero (Burgos), Antonio Linaje Niño, using the same social media platform, wanted to convey his "deep sadness" and added that the event occurred in the sporting event "is terrible". "All my support to his family. I hope for a speedy recovery for the injured," he concluded in his message.

The town hall in Aranda de Duero has decreed two days of official mourning for the death of the young athlete that began at 8pm yesterday and will last until next Monday. Today at 10.30am in the Plaza de la Hispanidad in the town, a minute's silence will be held in tribute to the young man, according to the council in a statement.

The town hall expressed "its condolences to his parents, family, friends, teammates, and to all the participating cyclists and teams, and is at their disposal for anything they may need". While waiting for the autopsy to be carried out on the victim, the town hall explained that the relatives of the deceased travelled yesterday from his home town to Aranda. The psychologists from the Red Cross in Soria are providing support to those close to the victim, and the young cyclist's teammates will also receive the same attention.

The organisers of the sporting event will pay tribute today to the young cyclist who died at the race in the Plaza de la Hispanidad in Burgos and encouraged the public to join in this act in memory of the 17-year-old athlete.