Stig Broeckx
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.JPG) Broeckx in 2015 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 May 1990 Mol, Belgium |
| Height | 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) |
| Weight | 73 kg (161 lb) |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Retired |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Amateur teams | |
| 2012–2013 | Lotto–Belisol U23 |
| 2013 | Lotto–Belisol (stagiaire) |
| Professional team | |
| 2014–2016 | Lotto–Belisol |
Stig Broeckx (born 10 May 1990 in Mol) is a Belgian former racing cyclist, who competed as a professional for Lotto–Soudal from 2014 to 2016.[1]
During the third stage of the 2016 Tour of Belgium, on 28 May, Broeckx was in a crash caused by two motorbikes that ran into the peloton when it was descending at speed. He was one of the 11 riders hospitalized.[2] He was reported to suffer severe injuries (his heart stopped beating for a time) and was placed in an induced coma at the hospital in Gent.[3] In June 2016, Lotto Soudal team issued a medical update explaining that Stig Broeckx was in a vegetative state with severe brain damage, with attempts to bring him out of his coma so far unsuccessful.[4] A further update in September 2016 stated that Broeckx was being cared for in a rehabilitation centre in Overpelt, and was considered to be in a minimally conscious state, with no hope of recovery.[5] His family insisted that Broeckx be sent to a pioneering coma centre in Liège;[6] in December 2016 team doctor Servaes Bingé confirmed Broeckx was out of a coma.[7]
By 2019 Broeckx had recovered to a great extent, and was able to walk with a cane, although he had no memory of the five years leading up to the accident, and found out who he had been from the Internet. He cycles for recreation; when asked if afraid, he replied "I was already dead, so why [be afraid] now?".[6]
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