Nicolas Portal, sport director of Team Ineos, died Tuesday of a heart attack at the age of 40.

Portal started as a trainee with French team AG2R Prévoyance in 2001 and worked professionally until 2005. He then spent three seasons with Caisse d'Epargne before finishing his racing career with Team Sky in 2010, missing the 2009 season due to an irregular heartbeat, but competing fully in 2010.

Portal became part of Team Sky when Bradley Wiggins won the 2012 Tour de France, and the team was renamed Team Sky when Chris Froome (2013, 2015-2017), Geraint Thomas (2018), and Egan Bernal won last year. He continued to support the team after it was renamed Ineos.

Team Ineos confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that Portal passed away at his home in Andorra.

"It is with the utmost sadness that we announce the death of our beloved teammate, colleague, and friend Nico Portal, who passed away suddenly this afternoon at his home in Andorra. [We are all overcome with sadness at this terrible news and would like to ask everyone to respect the privacy of the family during this difficult time

"Rest in peace Nico. Your spirit will always be with us Lord and you will be in our hearts forever."

The riders and staff of Team Ineos released a message of condolence on social media, as did the Movistar team that Portal was a part of when he was known as Caisse d'Epargne. This was followed by an outpouring of grief from many other players, teams, and people who knew him.

Portal was a successful cyclist in his own professional career, winning a stage at the 2004 Criterium du Dauphiné and a solo victory at Aubena. He competed in seven Grand Tours (six Tour de France and one Vuelta a España) and finished inside the top 10 in Grand Boucle stages three times.

He also finished inside the top 10 overall in the 4 Jours de Dunkerque and Tour du Limousin, and 16th in Paris-Roubaix.