Heavily fallen in the last descent of the fifth stage on Thursday, cyclist Gino Mäder succumbed to his injuries, his Bahrain Victorious team announced on Friday morning. The organizers of the Tour de Suisse have decided to neutralize the stage of the day, the peloton will ride the last 30 kilometers to form a procession in his homage.
Published on: 06/16/2023 – 13:46Modified on: 06/16/2023 – 17:23
The world of cycling is in mourning. Swiss rider Gino Mäder, 26, succumbed to his injuries on Friday after suffering a heavy fall the day before in the dizzying final descent of the 5th stage of the Tour de Suisse, a death that sent shock waves through the world of cycling.
The climber “was unable to complete his last and greatest challenge and at 11:30 a.m. we had to say goodbye to one of our team’s lights,” the Bahrain-Victorious team wrote in a statement.
Gino Mäder, then 27th in the general classification, fell Thursday at km 197 of the queen stage of the Swiss event, between Fiesch and La Punt, in the descent of the Albula pass, after an exhausting day marked by three ascents over 2,000 m in altitude and 4,710 m in elevation gain.
He had been found “inert in the water” of a ravine below the road and transported to Chur hospital after being resuscitated.
Vuelta’s best youngster
But the next day, “Gino lost his fight to recover from the serious injuries he had suffered”, explained the Bahrain-Victorious, who said he was “devastated by this tragic accident”.
Flowers were laid on June 16, 2023 near the site of the fatal accident suffered by Swiss cyclist Gino Mäder the day before near La Punt, during the 5th stage of the Tour de Suisse © ARND WIEGMANN / AFP
The race was “neutralized” on Friday before the start of the 6th stage between Chur and Oberwil-Lieli, and the peloton covered the last 30 kilometers in silence, forming a procession a few meters behind Gino Mäder’s six teammates, who crossed the line to the applause of the spectators.
The event led by the Danish yellow jersey Mattias Skjelmose (Trek-Segafredo) will resume on Saturday.
Bahrain chief executive Milan Erzen paid tribute to “an extremely talented cyclist, but also a great person off the bike”.
Other teams expressed their sadness. “Overwhelming information and really difficult to conceive”, affirmed Soudal Quick-Step. “Our sport, so beautiful and so cruel”, reacted the AG2R.
“Cycling is a big family, today we all mourn a special boy. Your smile will always remain in our hearts,” said the organization of the Tour of Italy, where the climber had won a stage in 2021.
Swiss rider Gino Mäder winner of a stage of the Giro d’Italia in Ascoli, May 13, 2021 © Luca Bettini / AFP/Archives
On the runners’ side, the Slovenian Primoz Roglic said he was “speechless” and the Welshman Geraint Thomas spoke of “a sad day”. “Rest in peace, I will miss you,” Slovenian Tadej Pogacar posted on Instagram. Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe said he was “terribly shocked”, adding: “You were a warrior, a chic Gino type”.
Terribly shocked ????
All my condolences to his family and loved ones.
You were a warrior, a fancy Gino type— Julian Alaphilippe Official (@alafpolak1) June 16, 2023
“We will always remember you,” reacted his compatriot Stefan Küng, winner of the first stage on Sunday.
Mäder was one of Switzerland’s main hopes in the stage races, and ranked 5th and best youngster in the 2021 Tour of Spain.
The American Magnus Sheffield (Ineos-Grenadiers) had fallen in the same place and had been hospitalized with “bruises and a concussion”, according to the organization.
Behind the stage winner, the Spaniard Juan Ayuso, the following motorcycle had been flashed at more than 100 km / h, according to the official direct from the Tour de Suisse.
Evenepoel furious
As of Thursday evening, the world champion Remco Evenepoel had deplored on Twitter the choice to complete this trying stage with such a route.
“Since a finish at the top would have been perfectly possible, it was not a good decision to let (the runners) finish with this dangerous descent”, had written the Belgian.
While a summit finish would have been perfectly possible, it wasn’t a good decision to let us finish down this dangerous descent. As riders, we should also think about the risks we take going down a mountain
My thoughts & strength is with @ginomaeder and @MagnusSheffield!
(2/2)
— Remco Evenepoel (@EvenepoelRemco) June 15, 2023
His fatal fall recalls those of the Belgian Wouter Weylandt in 2011, in the descent of the Passo del Bocco during the 3rd stage of the Giro, and of the Italian Fabio Casartelli in 1995, in the descent of the Portet d’Aspet during the 15th stage of the Tour de France.
The International Cycling Union announced new measures at the end of 2020 to secure the routes after the very serious fall of the Dutchman Fabio Jakobsen during the Tour of Poland a few months earlier, but they mainly concerned arrivals in the massive sprint.
