Hayden passes away after cycling accident

Former MotoGP world champion Nicky Hayden has died after a bicycle accident in Italy last week, the hospital treating him has confirmed.

Honda World Superbike rider Hayden, who won the MotoGP title in 2006, was hit by a car while training on a bicycle along the Rimini coast last Wednesday.

He was initially taken to a local hospital in Rimini before being moved to the Maurizio Bufalini Hospital in Cesena, where he was placed in intensive care with his fiancée and family by his side.

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Hayden's condition remained "extremely critical" over the weekend but his death was confirmed on Monday.

Hayden had raced in the Italian round of the Superbike World Championship at Imola the weekend before his accident.

A veteran of 218 MotoGP races, he won the world title with Repsol Honda in 2006 - ending Valentino Rossi's streak of five successive championship victories - and also raced for Ducati before switching to the Superbike circuit last year.

The American's death comes exactly one month since professional cyclist Michele Scarponi passed away following a similar accident in Italy.

Scarponi - who was set to lead Astana at the Giro d'Italia - was hit by a van at a crossroads while out on a ride near his home in Filottrano.