Organizers of the Tour de Suisse cycling race said they would resume multi-stage racing on Saturday, a day after a cyclist died from injuries sustained in a crash during a high-speed downhill descent.
The rider, Gino Mäder, was a member of the Bahrain-Victorious team, which announced on Saturday morning that it was withdrawing from the race. two other teams professional tudor and Intermarché-Circus-WantyHe also said that he had decided to drop out of the race.
The Bahrain-Victorious team riders, as well as the rest of the competitors, were informed of Mäder’s death on Friday morning, a day after he went off course and fell down a steep ravine. Riders took part in a shortened commemorative ride on Friday that replaced the day’s stage, which was cancelled.
But with the race, a major set-up for next month’s Tour de France, set to return for its final two competitive stages this weekend, Bahrain-Victorious confirmed on social media on Saturday morning that her team would not be taking part. .
“Following the tragic loss of Gino Mäder,” the team said in a Twitter post, “Team Bahrain Victorious has made the decision to withdraw from the Tour de Suisse.”
Two other teams quickly followed suit. Both cited the well-being of their riders in their decisions to drop out. “Under these difficult circumstances, we feel it is the humane way to respect the feelings of our riders and pay tribute to Gino,” the Tudor Pro statement said.
Race officials said late Friday that they had made their decision. to continue the race in consultation with the family of Mäder, one of the best young riders in Switzerland. A four-stage women’s event will start on Saturday as scheduled.
“After consultation with all the people involved, we as management are united behind this decision and are trying to run the last two stages of the men’s race in an appropriate environment,” said tour race director Olivier Sen, in a statement.
“Today was the worst day of my life,” Senn added in the statement. “But tomorrow is a new day, and that’s what we have to take care of as an organization.”
Police are investigating the accident, and officials were reportedly interested in hearing from witnesses who might have seen and filmed the episode.
Mäder crashed along with an American cyclist, Magnus Sheffield, on Thursday near the end of the fifth stage of the week-long race, which ends with a final descent over the Albula Pass. The final section where the crash occurred, just after a downhill bend on an unprotected road with mountains to its left and a steep drop-off just beyond its right edge, was virtually empty by the time the riders traversed it.
Photographs from the crash area showed what appeared to be two sets of tire tracks leading to the brink of a steep drop onto the site where Mäder and Sheffield fell.
Mäder and Sheffield were treated where they rested, near a set of drainage pipes down a long slope. Sheffield, who was reported to have suffered a concussion and cuts and bruises, appeared to be able to walk back up the hill with help. Race officials said Mäder was revived at the scene after being discovered “immobile in the water”. After initial treatment, he was evacuated from the scene by helicopter.
At least one cyclist, reigning world champion Remco Evenepoel, suggested the course didn’t have to be so treacherous.
“I hope that the end of today’s stage will be food for thought both for the cycling organizers and for ourselves as cyclists”, Evenepoel said on Twitter after the accident but before the severity of Mäder’s condition was known. “It was not a good decision to let us finish this dangerous descent. As cyclists, we also have to think about the risks we take when going down a mountain.”
