Ex-pro Arnaud Coyot dies in auto accident
The 33-year-old was a passenger in a car driven by Cofidis rider Guillaume Levarlet, who reportedly lost control of the vehicle
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Former professional cyclist Arnaud Coyot died Sunday afternoon following a car accident in northern France.
Coyot, 33, was a passenger in a car whose driver, Cofidis rider Guillaume Levarlet, lost control of the vehicle and crashed in Allonne, according to Agence France Presse.
“The driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a concrete pillar that fell almost on the passenger seat,” according to the prosecutor in nearby Beauvais.
Levarlet was taken into custody, according to AFP. A report in Le Parisien alleged that the driver had been drinking, but prosecutors refused to provide confirmation of the allegation.
Levarlet and another passenger, AG2R La Mondiale’s Sébastien Minard, were uninjured in the accident.
Coyot, a native of Beauvais who lived in Creil, turned professional in 2003 and retired in 2012. He last rode for Saur-Sojasun.
Winner of the Classic Haribo in 2006, he finished 10th in the 2005 Paris-Roubaix and second in the 2008 French road championships.