It’s almost a full three years since a crash in the Gent six day led to the death of the Spanish sprinter Isaac Galvez, but that tragic accident appears to have claimed another life. The Belgian rider Dimitri De Fauw, who was involved in the collision that caused Galvez to hit the barrier at the top of the banking, has been found dead. It appears that he has taken his own life. The 28 year old had suffered from depression since the accident in Gent.
He competed with the Quick Step team for three years until the end of 2005, then moved to Chocolade Jacques in 2006. However De Fauw was predominantly known as a track rider. His wins include ten Belgian national titles, in the sprint, scratch race, keirin and kilometre TT.
He was also a silver medallist in the national under 23 road race championship in 2001, and won criteriums plus stages in races such as the Tour du Loir-et-Cher.
Most recently, De Fauw competed in the six days of Grenoble in France. He and Marc Hester finished seventh overall there, after which he returned to Belgium with his friend and fellow rider Iljo Keisse.
“I really do not know what I should say,” Keisse told Sporza. “I really can not believe it. I was with him for a week in Grenoble and noticed nothing wrong with him. He was perhaps a bit on the quiet side.
“I drove back home with him and Gianni Meersman. We went through the night and arrived back in Ghent at 8am in the moring. I noticed nothing abnormal about him. ‘I’ll call you this week to train,’ he told me.”
Keisse said that he had been affected by the accident with Galvez. “There were days when he laughed, played and did crazy things and days when he was silent. Racing since then was difficult for him, you could see that. But everyone knew him as a joker, a funny guy. He very seldom talked about serious things.”
We at Velonation would like to extend our sincere sympathies to his family, friends and racing colleagues.