Andrey Kivilev (Cofidis), fourth in the 2002 Tour de France, crashed heavily during stage 2. He was taken to hospital with severe head injuries and placed in a coma. An emergency surgery was conducted the same night, but Kivilev died in the early morning of 12 March 2003. Following his death, calls to make the wearing of crash helmets compulsory in professional cycling increased.[3] Less than a month later, the sport's governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale, declared helmets mandatory for all UCI-sanctioned events.[4]
