Vincenzo Nibali paid tribute to teammate Lieuwe Westra, who died Sunday at age 40. Westra was part of Nibali's escort at the 2014 Tour de France, especially during the race-defining stage to Arenberg in the opening week, helping Nibali across the cobbles.

"Liuwe was a great young man and lived for cycling," Nibali wrote in a column in Monday's edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (opens in new tab).

"He didn't say much, but he knew how to move in the group. I remember him being very happy at team meetings whenever he was assigned a job that required him to take a break."

During his Astana days, Westra joked that he could only understand one Italian word.

"Not speaking the same language was not a big problem. On the "famous" cobbled stage of the Tour de France, he pulled away from all of his GC rivals. I was really happy to have him on my team."

Nibali was informed of Westra's death on Sunday morning by Enrico Gasparotto, his former Astana teammate and now director sportif at Bora-Hansgrohe.

"Although I had not heard from him in the last few years, his death filled my heart with sadness. Very sad," Nibali wrote.

The Italian's words were echoed by Westra's compatriot and former Vacansoleil teammate Johnny Hoogerland: in an interview with Wielerflits (opens in new tab), Hoogerland said that Westra had won the 2011 Tour Mountains jersey, and two years later, he paid tribute to his friend's humanity as he recalled how he helped him win the Dutch national title.

"Liuwe was a very nice person, always there for everyone. He accomplished so many great things for himself, but he was very able to sacrifice himself for others," said Hoogerland, who last tried to reach Westra for the last time last month.

"He became depressed. A lot of people always wanted to help him, but there was really nothing they could do. It is very sad to see such a top athlete, someone who can be so hard on himself, end up completely alone. No one can get in touch with him anymore," Hoogerland said.

"I sent him a message at Christmas saying 'Happy Christmas, Lüwe,' but he never responded. I am very sad that it ended this way."

Laurens de Vries contributed to Westra's overall victory in the 2016 De Panne 3-day, and the Belgian recalled that they used to train together during their Astana days, especially before this race.

"We really trained like animals together. Your nickname was 'The Beast'. There was no chance for anything. You were not a spring classic rider, but I believed that with your big engine you could win the De Panne 3 days and we pulled together and did it," de Vries wrote on Instagram (opens in new tab).

"After your cycling career I tried to get in touch with you. Unfortunately, this did not work and you wanted to distance yourself. You were too tied to yourself. This was a particularly hard blow for me. However, I respected your choice.

A native of Friesland, Westra was a late arrival at the top level, turning pro in 2009 with Vacansoleil; in 2012 he won a stage in the Paris-Nice Mende, finishing second overall behind Bradley Wiggins.

In 2014, Westra moved to Astana, where he won stages at the Volta Catalunya and the Criterium du Dauphiné and helped Nibali win the Tour. Westra had agreed to ride for Wanty Groupe Gobert in 2017, but announced his retirement a few days after the New Year.

In 2018, Westra published an autobiography titled The Beast, in which he described his struggles with depression and alcoholism. In the book, ghostwritten by Thomas Sietsema, Westra also revealed that he faked an injury to obtain a TUE for cortisone during his Astana days and used tramadol in racing.

Siitsma, who contributed to Trouw (opens in new tab), recalled the last time he saw Westra last September in the garage where he worked as a mechanic.

"After disturbing messages from friends and family, I visited him in a car garage in an industrial park in Zwagdijk, North Holland. 'He was spending the night in the garage loft. He spent the night in the garage loft. Next to him was a thermal blanket. It was a sad sight. It was beastly.

"Asked if he needed treatment for his addiction, he answered in the negative. He has always listened to others and done what they asked him to do. He stopped doing that and started going his own way. He lost his way in the dark and instead of asking for help, he chose a path he should not have taken.