Death
On 13 August 1999 Claveyrolat drove down the côte de Laffrey, a mountain he had ridden many times by bike. A Renault 19 came the other way as Claveyrolat cut a corner and the two crashed. A man and his 14-year-old son were badly injured, the boy losing an eye. Claveyrolat was arrested for driving after drinking. Kimmage said: "His name was worth nothing any more. He had destroyed a family's life. The police were coming in the morning to take him to jail. Prison was unthinkable. Serving time wasn't going to restore his reputation or give the boy back his sight."
Claveyrolat committed suicide by shooting himself with a rifle at 3am on 7 September 1999. He was found dead in his cellar. He left a widow, Myriam, and two children. His son, Joris, wrote on a cycling internet site: "I am the son of Thierry Claveyrolat. I wanted to thank those who have paid their respects to my father and to clarify things for some people. Despite what some think, Thierry Claveyrolat committed suicide for personal reasons. There is nothing else to say; it is the true version, I assure you."
Read more about this topic: Thierry Claveyrolat
Famous quotes containing the word death:
“Of Heaven of Hell I have no power to sing,
I cannot ease the burden of your fears,
Or make quick-coming death a little thing,
Or bring again the pleasure of past years,”
—William Morris (1834–1896)
“‘Tis no great valor to perish sword in hand, and bravado on lip; cased all in panoply complete. For even the alligator dies in his mail, and the swordfish never surrenders. To expire, mild-eyed, in one’s bed, transcends the death of Epaminondas.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)