 Manuel Antonio Cardoso of Team RadioShack had been nearest to Weylandt when he crashed , and stated that Weylandt had touched a small retaining wall on the left side of the road with either his pedal or his handlebars , and was then catapulted across the road to the other side , where he again collided with something . He had looked behind him to ascertain his exact position in the race when he clipped the wall . Teammate Stamsnijder also witnessed the accident , saying " it was a very hard fall . " Italian police , conducting an inquest into Weylandt 's death , also took an official statement from the Portuguese rider at Team RadioShack 's hotel . A memorial was placed at the crash site , where Weylandt 's widow and mother , along with cyclists , passersby and residents of nearby villages , placed flowers . The Leopard Trek team remained in the race for another day at the encouragement of Weylandt 's family . Race leader David Millar spent the evening discussing with members of Leopard Trek , his teammate ( and Weylandt 's training partner and best friend ) Tyler Farrar , and Weylandt 's family how best to pay tribute to the fallen rider . Weylandt wore bib number 108 in the race , and Giro officials have said they will not assign the number in future editions of the race . 
