I work up today to the terrible news that Carly Hibberd, an Aussie pro cyclist from Brisbane, had been killed in Italy whilst out training. It is always horrible to hear news of a cyclist being killed, and when it is someone you know it hits hard.
Carly was 26 and a member of the Cassina Rizzardi A Style Fionucci pro cycling team in Italy. The last time I spoke to her was last year when she was racing on the Michela Fanini-Record-Rox squad and we did some of the same races in Europe. Carly packed a lot in to her cycling life. In my first year of racing, she won the Australian national series and then jetted off to Europe. When I was very much a rookie I was quite awe-struck by how experienced and accomplished she was. She went to Europe and for 3 years followed her dream of being a professional cyclist.
It is a huge shock. My thoughts go out to Carly's family and friends.
[Photo courtesy www.cyclingarchives.com]
