Approximately 2000 people attended the funeral this morning of Belgian rider Frank Vandenbroucke, who died of a pulmonary embolism earlier this month in Senegal.
The mass for the 34 year old rider was held in his home town of Ploegsteert and there family, friends, supporters and colleagues from cycling such as Johan Museeuw, Patrick Lefevere, Wilfried Peeters, Lief Hoste, Walter Godefroot, Michael Boogerd, Cedric Vasseur and Peter Van Petegem were in attendance. His best friend Nico Mattan was one of those who carried the coffin.
According to Sporza.be, Mattan said “we must continue to speak about all that was great about Frank.”
The emotional ceremony lasted over two hours. It was relayed to the fans outside the St. Peter and Paul church via a giant screen. The remains of Vandenbroucke were then laid to rest in the family tomb.
The Belgian rider stunned the world of cycling when he took a stage and finished sixth overall in the Tour of the Mediterranean at just 19 years of age. He won more than 60 races in his career, including Paris-Brussels, Gent Wevelgem, Paris-Nice, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Omloop "Het Volk" plus two stages of the Vuelta a España, but the bulk of those victories came before 2000.
He took his first UCI victory in many years this season when he won the time trial stage of the Boucles de l’Artois.