The 26 year old from Sherwood in Queensland was on a training ride north of Milan on Wednesday morning Italian time when she was struck by a car. Emergency services flew to the scene by helicopter but were unable to save her and she died at the scene.
Carly was a former runner who came into cycling through a talent identification scheme. She was a scholarship holder at the Queensland Academy of Sport for two years and raced domestically with the MBCycles team from 2006 to 2008.
Carly won the women’s Cycling Australia National Road Series in 2008 after earning points in all six rounds. She moved to Italy in 2009 to pursue a cycling career racing with the Michela Fanini-Record-Rox team up until this season when she joined Cassina Rizzardi A Style Fionucci.
Former team mate Liz Young rode with Carly for two years in the MBCycles team.
“Carly was a bright, friendly, energetic young person,” said Ms Young. “She had a great passion for her sport and for life in general.
“When she was around 19 she decided she wanted to become a professional cyclist and she pursued that dream with a great deal of passion,” she said. “She dedicated her life to her sport and to her friends and family and was a very positive person to be around.”
“Our thoughts are also with the members of the Ipswich Cycling Club where Carly was a member,” said Mr Fredericks.
Her family and fianc? Cameron Rogers have asked Cycling Australia to release the following message:
We appreciate everyone’s kind thoughts on the very sad news we received overnight, regarding Carly’s sudden passing in Italy.
Carly has been racing in Italy for the past three years and loving every minute of it. She was living her dream. It was her passion, along with her love for Cameron, to whom she was to be married in October this year.
They spoke to each other constantly, not a day went by without numerous calls.
Her love of cycling was fostered from a very early age by her parents, her father Mark and brother Luke, riding along with her and her mother Ros, was a constant support and gave her great encouragement.
Carly’s many friends throughout the world have been coming forward with messages of love for Carly, Cameron and their families.
We very much appreciate these messages but do ask that everyone respects our privacy at this time to allows us time to come to terms with what has happened
Special thanks go to the cycling community for their support and many, many messages.
