Heartbreaking loss for the cycling world: Adele Cobelli has died at age 14

A heartbreaking loss has shaken the cycling world: Adele Cobelli, a rising star of Italian mountain biking, lost her life at just 14 years of age. The young athlete was training in Trentino, on roads she knew very well because they were close to where she lived, but she was involved in a fatal collision with a car in the town of Lavis while riding through a curve heading toward Pressano.

Adele Cobelli was riding downhill when she was tragically struck by the car, which hurled her over the guardrail into a vineyard. Local police, the Carabinieri, firefighters, and medical personnel—including a helicopter rescue team—responded to the scene. Attempts to resuscitate the cyclist—who was a high school student and an off-road rider with the “Bike Movement Trentino Erbe” group—were in vain. In 2025, she had won the provincial championship title in her category (the Esordienti). “R.I.P. our little big athlete, we are truly at a loss for words,” reads the heartbreaking message from the team.

“What has happened leaves us stunned: for Trentino, this is yet another unacceptable road tragedy, with a young cyclist once again as the victim. As institutions and the Trentino community, we stand in solidarity with her family, friends, and all those affected by this terrible loss, expressing our deepest condolences during this difficult time,” stated Maurizio Fugatti, president of the Autonomous Province of Trento.

An additional source of sorrow stems from the fact that these same roads had claimed another very young victim before Adele Cobelli. Also in Trentino, in 2025, Sara Piffer lost her life; she, too, was a rising star in local and national cycling.

Sara Piffer’s name was already well known to Italian cycling fans long before her tragic death. The young athlete had represented the Italian national team at the 2023 World Championships in Glasgow, where she was selected for the Junior Women’s Road category as a member of ASD Breganze Cicloclub96. That trip to Scotland—which saw Italy field as many as 153 athletes in over 100 races—provided her with a top-tier international stage, showcasing the exceptional talent she had already demonstrated at such a young age.