Olympic cyclist mourns son who was set to follow in his footsteps

Lewis Barry, 15, cycled for Yorkshire and died last week, with the cause of his death remaining unclear.

He was the son of former Olympic cyclist Mark Barry and his wife Carol and had been involved in competitive cycling since the age of 11, with an expectation he would eventually win a place in the Great Britain team.

Although he had been diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat, it was apparently not regarded as serious by doctors.

Mr Barry, who took part in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, said: "For whatever reason he went to sleep and the next heartbeat just didn't come.

"When it happened I just wanted to bring the world to a stop because I couldn't understand how it could go on."

The Garforth Community College pupil had been out riding with friends on the evening before his death.

Mr Barry is a trainer at the Aire Valley Race Team, where Lewis was a member, and he had been due to take part in this year's UK Schools Games in September.

Mr Barry said Lewis, the couple's only child, had "natural cycling ability" and his performance had improved considerably recently.

"In the last 18 months he had gone from strength to strength.

"He was coming first, second and third in men's events," he said.