Motorcycle Racer Nicky Hayden Dead At 35 After Being Struck by Car

Motorcycle racing champ Nicky Hayden is dead at 35 years old ... days after being struck by a car in Italy while riding a bicycle.

Hayden was cycling along the Rimini coast in Italy last Wednesday when he was hit by a vehicle ... sustaining multiple traumatic injuries, including a serious head injury.

N.H. was in the intensive care unit of an Italian hospital ... before succumbing to his injuries.

Hayden -- the 2006 MotoGP champion -- was one of the best motorcycle racers in the world. He rode for the Honda Red Bull team, and was in Italy for a race.