Cyclist Sara Piffer, 19, died when her bike was hit by a car while out on a training ride with her brother in Italy’s northern Trentino region
Promising Italian cyclist Sara Piffer, 19, died when she was hit by a car while out on a training ride.
Piffer was hit head-on when an oncoming car overtook another from the other side of the road. The Team Mendelspeck rider was on a training ride in Italy’s northern Trentino region.
“Our thoughts are with the family of our associate, with Mendelspeck, with the group companions, and with all those who today are devastated by the pain of yet another life lost to road violence,” the ACCPI said in a statement.
According to reports in Italy, Piffer was training between Mezzocorona and Mezzolombardo alongside her brother Christian – La Gazzetta dello Sport said Christian sustained minor injuries.
A 70-year-old man is being investigated by police for vehicular homicide.
Piffer’s father, Lorenzo, said his daughter was “always careful” on the roads, which he then described as a “Wild West”. He added: “After the accident, my son Christian hugged me and said, ‘Dad, please forgive him. Because I think he’s suffering right now too.’
“So I decided to forgive him. Then justice will take its course.”
Lorenzo found out when Christian called him tragically telling him: “Sara is not breathing”. Lorezno added that Piffer had told him before heading out: “‘Dad, we always pay attention, it’s the others who don’t pay attention to us.’ And unfortunately, that’s how it was.”
Piffer was a winner of the Under-23 Giornata Nazionale Rosa – GP Città di Corridonia in 2024. She also earned fourth place in a team time trial event at the Italian National Championships.
Piffer’s funeral was held on Monday. In an interview with La Repubblica, her mother, Marianna, said: “They asked me to choose the clothes for my daughter’s funeral, I picked a cycling jersey she won last year.
“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.”