Lieuwe Westra

Dutchman scored 13 wins during his eight-year pro career, also helping Vincenzo Nibali win the 2014 Tour de France.

His favourite races are Strade Bianche and the Volta a Portugal, and he rides a Colnago C40. [Enrico Gasparotto](https://www.cyclingnews.com/riders/enrico-gasparotto/), his Astana teammate in 2014, wrote, "Rest in peace Lieuwe. Call 1-855-242-3310 (toll-free) or connect to the online we express our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones… [Johnny Hoogerland](https://www.cyclingnews.com/riders/johnny-hoogerland/) wrote, "Lieuwe my friend. we express our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones…" Kids Help Phone - Call 1-800-668-6868 (toll-free) or text CONNECT to 686868. Daniel Ostanek is production editor at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired as staff writer. In addition to his most high-profile wins, he also racked up victories at the 2016 Driedaagse De Panne, the 2012 Post Danmark Rundt, the opener at the 2013 Tour of California, and two national time trial titles in 2012 and 2013. He would go on to run a cycling hotel in Spain and admitted that he suffered from depression following the end of his career. Westra would later reveal in his 2018 autobiography, The Beast, that he had feigned injury to obtain TUEs for cortisone during his time at Astana. The Dutchman passed away on Saturday afternoon, his biographer Thomas Sijtsma reported.

FORMER Tour de France star Lieuwe Westra has died at the age of 40.The Dutchman passed away on Saturday after being found unresponsive at his business.

[cyclist](https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/cycling/) wrote: "Such terribly sad news. Another commented: "So incredibly saddened to hear news of the passing of Lieuwe Westra. May he find peace." He showed that nothing is impossible." Enrico Gasparotto, a former Astana teammate, wrote: "Rest in peace Lieuwe. He was a 90kg techno raver and road painter in his early twenties till he started riding again and entered the WorldTour at the age of 26, and beat the best at Paris-Nice.

FORMER Tour de France star Lieuwe Westra has died at the age of 40.The Dutchman passed away on Saturday after being found unresponsive at his business.

Another commented: "So incredibly saddened to hear news of the passing of Lieuwe Westra. While a fellow cyclist wrote: "Such terribly sad news. May he find peace." He showed that nothing is impossible." Enrico Gasparotto, a former Astana teammate, wrote: "Rest in peace Lieuwe. He was a 90kg techno raver and road painter in his early twenties till he started riding again and entered the WorldTour at the age of 26, and beat the best at Paris-Nice.

The 40-year-old, who retired in 2016, started the Tour de France five times after turning professional at the age of 26 and tributes have now flooded in ...

After retiring, the Dutch star ran a cycling hotel in Spain but admitted that he suffered from depression following the end of his career. Another former team-mate Enrico Gasparotto added: "Rest in peace Lieuwe. He added: "RIP Lieuwe Westra. Westra also played a key part in the Astana team during the 2014 Tour de France in helping team-mate Vincenzo Nibali to overall victory. The former cyclist fought with himself in recent years and lost. During his eight-year professional cycling career, Westra competed in the Tour de France five times - finishing the gruelling three-week race on three occasions.

'Not speaking the same language wasn't a big problem, we understood one another' says Nibali.

"He had spent the night on the loft of the garage. "When asked if he wanted help with his addictions, he replied in the negative. In 2018, Westra published his autobiography, titled The Beast, in which he wrote of his struggle with depression and alcohol abuse. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. He got lost in the dark and instead of reaching out for help, he took the turn he shouldn't have taken: that of fatal self-destruction." A native of Friesland, Westra was a late arrival to the top level, turning professional with Vacansoleil in 2009. The mat Westra had slept on that night was still on the floor. Although Westra had agreed to ride for Wanty-Groupe Gobert in 2017, he announced his retirement days into the new year. "He didn’t speak very much, but he knew exactly how to move in the bunch. Westra was a part of Nibali’s guard on the 2014 Tour de France, most notably shepherding him across the cobbles on the race-defining stage to Arenberg in the opening week. "Lieuwe was too good, he was always there for everyone. "On the ‘famous’ cobbled stage of the Tour de France, where I gained on all my GC rivals, his help was vital, first by being in the break and then by pulling for me.