A La Mesa resident in his early 40s who recently rediscovered athletics died over the weekend in an elite cycling race when he crashed into a tree, according to authorities and family members.

Nicola Grossi was competing in Saturday's grueling Climb to Kaiser -- a 155-mile ride that ascends from nearly sea level to a 9,200-foot Sierra Nevada pass -- when he lost control of his bicycle on a curving descent.

Grossi, who was wearing a helmet, could not be revived and was pronounced dead at 10:42 a.m., said Jeff Gentry, a deputy coroner for Fresno County.

The 42-year-old computer software designer became a bicycling enthusiast over the past two years, losing more than 100 pounds as he biked to work daily and went on hours-long highway rides, mother-in-law Pat Fox said.

"He fell in love with it," Fox said. "We were all very proud."

Grossi lost control as he approached a curve on the steep, winding descent from Shaver Lake to Big Creek.

He is believed to be the second person to die in the Climb to Kaiser's 36-year history.

In 2003, a rider was struck and killed by a pickup on the steep descent into Big Creek.

Grossi was survived by a wife, daughter and three step-children, Fox said.

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Recent convert to excercise dies in elite cycling race