From The Times.co.za:
Cox, one of South Africa’s top cyclists, lost the fight for his life in a Gauteng hospital after the main artery in his left leg burst yesterday.
Cox had recently undergone surgery in France after South Africa’s Tour de France ace, Robert Hunter, had lent him the money for the operation.
Clint Curtis, who coached the Barloworld rider when he was a junior, said Cox had been having problems with his left leg for some time.
"He sometimes lost the feeling in the leg after cycling and had little power in the leg towards the end of some races.
"Ryan then went to see one of the leading doctors in France. It was found that the artery had, as a consequence of all the cycling, become knotted as sometimes happens to a garden hose.
"It often happens to cyclists because they spend so many hours on the bicycles, with their legs bent while pedalling.
From news24.co.za:
Farewell Ryan
01/08/2007 12:51 - (SA)
Top SA cyclist Ryan Cox has died in the Kempton Park hospital after complications following a vascular lesion operation. (Brecht Decaluw, Cyclingnews.com)
by Sean Badenhorst
Team Barloworld cyclist, Ryan Cox, passed away on Wednesday, August 1, 2007.
He was just 28.
It was an unexpectedly abrupt end to such a promising cycling career and such a promising life.
Ryan and I weren't close friends, but our paths crossed a number of times over the past eight years.
The time I spent time with Ryan, I was filled with nothing but admiration and respect - such a fine athlete, such a refined human.
This was a young man who was completely committed to his chosen career as a professional cyclist.
You couldn't find a more professional sportsman if you tried.
Untimely passing
Ryan's progression up the ladder of cycling success was frustratingly hindered over the past couple of years by a mysterious ailment that was eventually diagnosed as being a faulty artery in his left leg that required surgery to repair.
How ironic that the procedure that was meant to set him free from pain would result in his untimely passing.
With cycling's dopers finally being weeded out one by one and Team Barloworld's newly raised profile following a fantastic string of Tour de France performances by his teammates, Ryan's post-operation prospects looked bright.
He'd have had far more opportunities to match his rivals on talent and class in the big races, with the huge mountain climbs, where he was most at home.
And Ryan wasn't short of talent and class.
He was brimming with it!
His smooth, elegant riding style was an absolute pleasure to witness.
All cyclists dreamed of being able to climb like Ryan.
His movement was so powerful yet seemingly effortless.
Career highlights
You just knew that he was suffering badly but he never showed it. That's class.
Among his career highlights, Ryan won the Pick 'n Pay 94.7 Cycle Challenge and two SA championship road titles.
He also won the Giro del Capo, South Africa's premier international stage race, and the Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia, Asia's biggest race.
But those who follow cycling closely knew that Ryan's best was still come.
At 28, he was just reaching that 4-5 year period of athletic maturity when his potential would be turned into success.
His sudden death has left a gaping hole in South African cycling.
Ryan was undoubtedly one of our greatest prospects and one of our best assets.
It's just so sad that Ryan's race distance was changed at the last minute without any warning.
Completely devastated
We'll sadly never know how great he could have been. We just know he would have been great.
I was merely an acquaintance and I am completely devastated at Ryan's death.
I cannot imagine how hard this must all be for Ryan's family, friends and teammates.
We can only be grateful that we were privileged to have had such a humble hero to look up to, even if it was for such a short while.
It's such a pity that we generally pay respect to great people only when they're gone.
My biggest regret is that I'm writing this tribute in the past tense...
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