Ernesto Escolano, a 50-year-old amateur cyclist from Sabinigo, stopped 20 kilometers from the finish line, on a hot summer day.

• Of earlier Spaniard Fernando Cievera dies of cardiac arrest in Titan Desert

ernest escolanoA 50-year-old amateur cyclist from Sabinigo died on Tuesday at the Mohammed VI University Hospital in Marrakech as a result of heart failure during the second leg of the Titan Desert. The day passed between Merzouga and Kesar Jadid in scorching heat and with a journey of 102 kilometres.

The Aragonese sprinter with number 521 required emergency medical assistance on the second stage at 82 km, where he was treated by the track health team, who applied first aid to immobilize him.

He was then transferred by helicopter to the Mohammed VI University Hospital Center in Marrakech, where, after some time, he died despite medical efforts, according to a statement from the Titan Desert organization. In the first leg, Escolano had finished 357 out of 476 to reach the finish line and his progress was negative: he passed the first checkpoint in position 194 and was losing position by the end.

second mortal casualty

Three years ago, in 2019, the trial had already claimed its first death. fernando cievera, 46, a native of Zaragoza but also a resident of Mexico, also suffered “heart failure”, also in the second stage and one day that started in Merzouga. In that case, on this occasion, the main cause of misfortune was heat.