The cycling world is in grief after it has been reported that former professional Arnaud Coyot was killed in a car accident near Beauvais in France on Sunday morning. Cofidis rider Guillaume Levarlet who drove the car, was uninjured but has been detained by French police after the accident.

The cycling world has been hit by another tragic accident after it has been reported that Arnaud Coyot was killed in a car accident at 6.30 am on Sunday. The former professional was passenger in a car that was driven by Cofidis rider Guillaume Levarlet and which swerved off the road and hit a metal barrier. Coyot was transported to the hospital in Amiens where he died from his injuries.

Coyot turned professional in 2002 with Cofidis and rode for the French team until 2007 when he joined Unibet. After one year, he joined Caisse d'Epargne where he stayed for three seasons before returning to France when he joined Saur-Sojasun. He ended his career in 2012 due to a persistent knee injury.

Coyot was mostly known as a domestique but started 6 grand tour and completed 4 Tours de France. He won the 2006 Classic Haribo and was second at the French championships in 2008.

Levarlet was detained by French police as he is under suspicion of drunk driving. Ag2r-La Mondiale rider Sebastien Minard was also passenger in the car but like Levarlet, he was uninjured in the accident.

The peloton has mourned the loss of their former colleague.

Former Unibet teammates Baden Cooke and Rigoberto Uran both paid tribute on Twitter. “I am so very sad to hear about the passing of Arnaud Coyot. 33 yo, way too young to die. He was a great guy and top teammate. RIP,” Cooke wrote. “I had the chance to spent three seasons with this great man who fate has taken from us," Uran added.

Former Saur-Sojasun teammate Jerome Coppel wrote: "There are no words to express my grief and what I am feeling… he is in the forefront of my thoughts." Jimmy Engoulvent commented: “Arnaud has left us before his time, but with great memories of the time we spent together that will always remain engraved in my mind.”

Joaquim Rodriguez who was his teammate at Caisse d'Epargne described him as “one of the best team-mates and people that I have ever met in the world of cycling." Another former Caisse d'Epargne teammate Jose Ivan Gutierrez wrote: “An extraordinary French colleague has died! Coyot! He was a great person! How unjust life is.”

CyclingQuotes extends its condolences to Coyot's family and friends.