Cyclist who died in Malaga was a former National Police officer who was retired after a previous accident

A retired National Police officer, who had already survived one serious car accident earlier in his career, died when he was involved in an accident with a lorry in Malaga on 23 February.

Former sub-inspector Juan José Novo Fernández, better known as Novo, died while he was cycling as part of his training for a triathlon.

Born in Gijón, Novo, aged 53, was a long-term resident of Malaga. He was well known because of his police work. However, five years ago he was involved in a traffic accident while on patrol. His partner escaped with minor injuries but Novo was forced to retire because of serious injuries to his back and subsequent operations.

"He almost couldn't get out of bed, but little by little he improved and, based on courage, he ended up starting to move and train," says Rogelio Núñez, vice president of the Inacua Triathlon Club, to which Novo belonged.

Although he had been training at these facilities for some time, the former sub-inspector did not start his triathlon training until recently. One of his team mates said, “He knew how to team up and never stopped motivating people to sign up for races and to all go together to compete."

Novo had been due to race competitively in Paris on 3 April, a trip he had planned to take with his daughter.