Steve Berman, left, of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, riding with members of a team formerly known as Jamis Hagens Berman during training several years ago in Tucson, Arizona.
Chad Young, a promising young member of the Axeon Hagens Berman professional cycling team, died late Friday in Tucson, Arizona, after a crash in New Mexico. Young was reportedly the first American rider to die in a North American stage race in almost two decades.
The severe facial and injuries suffered by Young, a 21-year-old New Hampshire native, occurred on April 23 in Silver City, New Mexico, in the final stage of the Tour of the Gila. After being initially listed in stable condition, Young was downgraded to critical, according to news reports. Young’s death was a tough blow to Axeon Hagens Berman, which in a statement mourned the loss of a friend, teammate and family member.
“I have no words that can express my pain over this loss,” said team general manager Axel Merckx, son of legendary Belgian rider Eddy Merckx. “I can only say that I am very thankful to have known him and that I feel privileged to have been able to share in his passion for cycling.”
Steve Berman, the Seattle-based managing partner of high-flying plaintiffs firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, called Young’s passing a “very sad moment.” Berman, as noted in 2015 by sibling publication The National Law Journal, has long had an interest in cycling and began sponsoring Axeon Hagens Berman last year. (Hagens Berman previously sponsored another cycling team.)
Berman, reached via email Monday, called Young’s death a “very sad moment,” noting that he was the second rider that Axeon Hagens Berman has had suffer a terrible accident.
“I spent a night soul searching whether I should sponsor a sport where this can happen and lots of my friends have convinced me to stick with it,” Berman wrote. “But I am shaken.”
In 2015, Young began riding for Axeon Hagens Berman, which was founded in 2009 under a different name. The crash that killed him came during the final “Gila Monster” stage of the Tour of the Gila stage race, which is held each year in New Mexico.
Contact Brian Baxter at [email protected].
