Some sad news from Italy.
Kevin Bonaldo, a 25-year-old Italian rider with the Sc Padovani Polo Cherry Bank team, has died. The Continental-level cyclist spent a month in intensive care following a sudden illness during the Piccola Sanremor race on Sept. 21. According to L’Equipe, Bonaldo suffered a heart attack.
According to Italian media, Bonaldo was immediately attended to by medical personnel at the race and admitted to the intensive care in Vicenza. Over the following weeks, he showed signs of recovery, giving hope to his family and team. Sadly, his condition deteriorated this week. He passed away Thursday surrounded by his loved ones.
He began racing as UC Loria, later joining UC Giorgione, and eventually VC Bassano, where he took second place in the Italian team time trial championship as an Allievo. He repeated the result as an under-23 in 2021 with Team Qhubeka.
In 2025, Bonaldo rode for Sc Padovani Polo Cherry Bank, adding experience from previous stints at Zalf Euromobil Désirée Fior.
He took a fifth-place finish in the fourth stage of the Dookoła Mazowsza in Poland this year. Bonaldona was also eighth in Stage 1 of Belgrade Banjaluka. At the recent Veneto Classic, his teammates wore a special jersey with his name on it. They also had a banner which read, “Kevin con noi,” Italian for “Kevin is with us.”
“He felt all the support we received and fought every day to recover until the end,” Bonaldo’s brother Antonio said, according to tuttobiciweb.it. He also thanked medical staff, the team, and everyone who sent encouragement to Kevin.
The team’s president, Galdino Peruzzo, expressed his condolences, noting, “We carried Kevin with us to every race this season. Since Sept. 21, we have waited anxiously, and today we mourn this tragic loss.’
Bonaldo is survived by his parents, Cinzia and Roberto, his brothers Simone and Antonio, his fiancée Alice, and numerous friends who stood by him during his final month.