Bike racing, especially Bicycle Motorcross (BMX), is a very integral part of any summer Olympic season. With this in mind, it is sad news to bear that Kyle Bennett, a well-known BMX racer, has passed away.

Kyle Bennett, from Conroe, Texas, was always interested in the bike-racing scene. At the age of seven, his grandfather took him to the Armarillo Downs racetrack, and then started racing at the age of eight years old. As his bike racing skills flourished, Bennett decided to be a professional biker, acquiring his first sponsor (S&S Racing) in 1991, and declaring his profession at the NBL Christmas Classic in 1997 when he turned 18.

Bennett achieved world-wide stardom when he represented America as part of the U.S. BMX Team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, along with other professional bikers: Mike Day, Donny Robinson, Jill Kintner. The picture below shows Bennett on Day 14 of the Beijing Olympics (source: Zimbio).

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Unfortunately, Kyle Bennett died on Sunday, October 14th, 2012, due to a car accident at the age of 33. According to ESPN, Montgomery Police reported that Bennett’s truck (traveling at high speed) veered off the roadway and collided into a wrought iron gate, a culvert pipe and several trees. This turned his truck upside down in a nearby subdivision.

Various fans of Bennett’s bike-racing talent have left their respects via Twitter: