News / Sport
Cycling club comes together to grieve death of popular member
Angus Collins has been remembered for his infectious smile and enthusiasm over a decade at Brunswick
Mark Phillips
THE cycling community is in shock after a popular member of the Brunswick Cycling Club was killed in a road accident while on his bike last week.
Angus Collins, 22, died at the scene after he was struck by a truck on a notoriously dangerous part of Footscray Road in West Melbourne at about 12.30pm last Thursday, February 2.
The male driver of the truck stopped at the scene and assisted police with their inquiries.
A Williamstown resident, Angus had been a member of the Brunswick Cycling Club since he was 12.
On Sunday, members of the club came together at the Brunswick velodrome to remember their former clubmate, who was studying for a double degree in Exercise and Sports Science and Sports management at Deakin University while also working as a trainee physiologist at the Victorian Institute of Sport.
“We had a couple of hundred people turn up just to be there for each other, with a lot of hugs and tears and conversations and it was just a wonderful illustration of the love for Angus in our community,” said club president Tony Maughan.
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Mr Maughan has set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to cover the Collins’ family’s funeral and related expenses.
He said Angus had joined the club about a decade ago and was “a very important part of the Brunswick cycling family”, who would be remembered for his infectious smile and enthusiasm for the sport.
“He was a tenacious competitor on the track and on the road, and had a heart which was incredible in supporting his team mates and those around him,” Mr Maughan said.
Tributes have poured in on social media to Angus, including one from Brunswick Cycling Club stalwart Dave Morgan who wrote: “I will always remember your smile, whether it was after a win, or even picking you up off the track after a fall, that smile was always there”.
Another to pay tribute was Sarah Gigante, who cycled with Angus as a junior at Brunswick and has gone on to represent Australia in road racing and the time trial at the Tokyo Olympics and is currently a member of the Movistar professional team in Europe.
“You were one of a kind … so funny, so genuine, so positive, and most importantly, so kind. It’s incredibly unfair that you have been taken from us so soon,” she wrote in a message with other members of her family.
The GoFundMe campaign has raised almost $23,000 by Monday evening. Funeral details have yet to be announced.