Mid-race heart attack claims Amgen Tour worker

A man who suffered a fatal heart attack Wednesday morning while working at the Amgen Tour of California cycling race along state Highway 1 in unincorporated Monterey County has been identified as 51-year-old Robert Llewelyn, tour officials said.

Llewelyn was a television motorcycle pilot parked on the side of the road when he died along Highway 1 roughly 10 miles north of the San Luis Obispo County line, tour spokeswoman Cassie Zebisch said.

Said tour president Kristin Klein in a statement:

“Rob was a 20-year veteran driver who was passionate about the sport of cycling and loved being on the course every day.”

California Highway Patrol officers responded to the scene around 11:45 a.m. on a report that someone suffered a medical emergency, lost consciousness and fell down, CHP Officer Oscar Loza said.

The CHP had initially reported that the person was on a motorcycle while experiencing the emergency, but Zebisch clarified that the individual was on the side of the road waiting for approaching cyclists and wasn’t operating a vehicle.

Stage 4 of the Amgen Tour of California went from Morro Bay in San Luis Obispo County north to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey County on Wednesday.

A moment of silence was held for Llewelyn before Stage 5 of the race began Thursday morning. Stage 5 started in Lodi and ends in South Lake Tahoe, Zebisch said.

A Facebook post by TV Motos International Inc., a company that films sporting events for television coverage, read:

“Rob will be remembered always and profoundly missed. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family.”

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