A 72-year-old Russian cyclist pedaling across the country to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II has been hit and killed by a truck in the Tver region, a news report said.
The cyclist, Alexander Grechkin, died on the spot after the Wednesday accident, the local TverNews portal reported.
Grechkin was in the middle of a 7,000-kilometer bike ride along the site of major World War II battles in western Russia, according to an interview he gave to Komsomolskaya Pravda published two days before his death.
Half of the route had been covered, and Grechkin planned to complete the trip on May 7, just ahead of Russia's Victory Day celebrations, the report said.
Grechkin said that his father and two older brothers had fought in the war, and he was “dedicating this ride to the victory,” according to the interview.
The driver of the truck that hit Grechkin said that he had lost control of the steering after taking his eyes off the road to tune in to a radio station, TverNews reported.