The cycling world mourns the death of Iván Meléndez Luque
The sport loses another young talent after the Spanish rider died following a crash during stage two of the Vuelta Ciclista a la Ribera del Duero
Once again the cycling work is in mourning after Iván Meléndez Luque died while racing the Vuelta Ciclista a la Ribera del Duero in Spain Saturday, August 23.
The 17-year-old-Spanish rider crashed during the race’s second stage and succumbed to his injuries. The race was initially suspended and then cancelled completely. Sunday’s final stage was also cancelled, organisers instead arranging a memorial to Iván which took place at 10:30 on Sunday in the race’s finish town of Aranda de Duero.
From Colmenar near Malaga, Iván Meléndez was 17 in January and, according to reports, was a last minute call-up for the race after one of his Tenerife-Cabberty team mates was injured. He has been a regular in UCI level junior races throughout Spain this year.
The incident involved a large number of riders, with reports stating Iván was taken to a local hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. Two other riders were reportedly taken to the same hospital suffering from serious injuries.
“The Vuelta Ribera suspends all activities due to the passing of a rider,” organisers posted on X. “We send all our love and support to the family, friends, and teammates of the athlete. Tomorrow, at 10:30 AM, we will gather in the Plaza de la Hispanidad in Aranda to pay tribute to them.”
La @VueltaRibera suspende todas las actividades por el fallecimiento de un corredor.
— Vuelta Ciclista a la Ribera del Duero (@VueltaRibera) August 23, 2025
Enviamos todo nuestro cariño y apoyo a los familiares, amigos y compañeros del deportista.
Mañana, a las 10:30 h, nos reuniremos en la plaza de la Hispanidad de Aranda a rendirle homenaje pic.twitter.com/MSzo7QHY31
The UCI also expressed their sorrow on X; “The UCI deeply mourns the tragic passing of Spanish rider Iván Meléndez Luque (Tenerife-Cabberty U19 Team), who succumbed to injuries sustained today in a crash at the Vuelta Ribera in Spain. We extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends and the cycling community.”
The incident comes soon after the deaths of 19-year-old Samuele Privatera at the Giro della Valle d’Aosta in July and 21-year-old Mustafa Ayyorkun at the Tour of Iran in early June. With its SafeR programme, the UCI is currently attempting to make the sport safer.
For those riders and for Iván the results came tragically too late, and all of us at Domestique Cycling would like to express our deepest condolences to Iván’s family, friends, team mates and others affected by the tragedy.
