The man who died after a fall Monday during the Ride the Rockies bike tour was Jim DeBlois, 67, of Cape Girardeau, Mo.
DeBlois sustained a head injury in the unwitnessed fall onto U.S. Highway 24 on the descent of Tennessee Pass in Eagle County, on the leg from Buena Vista to Edwards.
The Eagle County coroner’s office, however, has not yet ruled on a cause of death. The Colorado State Patrol also is investigating.
He was taking part in the famed 412-mile Colorado tour for the first time with his wife, said tour director Chandler Smith. His wife was riding ahead of him and did not see the fall, Smith said.
DeBlois was a professional engineer, records show. The couple has been active in several fitness activities in numerous states over the last decade, according to a search of their names. They are members of the Velo Girardeau Bicycle Club, where Jim DeBlois serves as the club’s newsletter editor, according to its website.
DeBlois’ family did not immediately return a call to their home in Cape Girardeau to talk about memorial or funeral plans.
The bike tour began Sunday in Crested Butte and concludes Friday in Georgetown. The ride, in its 26th year, features more than 2,000 cyclists.
The last fatality was in 2006, when a Boulder woman deviated off the course in Salida and was hit by a motor home.
