A BELGIAN RIDER Wouter Weylandt has died after a crash during the third stage of the Giro d’Italia.

Weylandt crashed at high speed on the descent of the dangerous Passo del Bocco climb, about 12.4-miles from the finish.

The Leopard-Trek star received emergency treatment at the scene of the accident. “Despite immediate treatment there was nothing we could do,” doctor Giovanni Tredici told Rai Television, according to the Reuters.

Television shots showed Weylandt bleeding heavily and lying unconscious on the ground as a helicopter made its way to the scene. Italian media reports suggested he was breathing on his own after treatment but it has since been confirmed that the 26-year-old is dead.

Spain’s Angel Vicioso won the third stage but race organisers cancelled post-stage celebrations.

Weylandt is the first rider killed in a crash in one of cycling’s three main tours since Italian rider Fabio Casartelli during the 1995 Tour de France

- additional reporting AP