Tate Meintjes, a 19-year-old rider with Team California, was killed in a car-bike crash on Tuesday. Meintjes had been pre-riding the Redlands Bicycle Classic time trial course in California when a driver cut him off.
Tate Meintjes was riding on Sand Canyon Road near the city of Redlands when the collision took place. According to the California Highway Patrol, a driver in a Honda Accord attempted to make a turn and pulled in front of Meintjes, who had been traveling just behind in the same direction.
Meintjes, who had been previewing the race’s time trial course with his teammates, was pronounced dead after being transported to a nearby hospital.
Meintjes, a native of Reno, Nevada, began his racing career as a mountain biker in 2013. After winning the 2017 Pro XCT in the 17-18-year-old category and taking third in the main Pro XCT event that same year, he was selected to represent USA Cycling at the UCI Junior Canadian Cup. He joined California’s Bear Development Team in late 2018 and was in his second year at the University of Nevada, Reno, studying mechanical engineering.
Meintjes took up road racing at the end of last season and joined Team California this year. Most recently, he finished third in the Bariani Road Race in Zamora, California, which he excitedly referred to his “first big boy road race.”
In his last bio on Instagram, Meintjes left a now-eerie message. “Life Goal: Get to my deathbed thinking ‘Well, that was fun,’” he wrote.
Meintjes’s parents drove from Reno to Redlands at news of their son’s crash, Cycling News reported. On Tuesday evening, they asked the team to continue with the race, which began Wednesday on the same seven-mile time trial course where the crash occurred. (Foto & tekst: http://www.bicycling.com)
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