Dhe professional cyclist Gino Mäder, who had a serious accident, died as a result of his fall at the Tour de Suisse. This was announced by his team Bahrain Victorious on Friday. “It is with deep sadness and a heavy heart that we have to announce the death of Gino Mäder,” the statement said. The 26-year-old Swiss went off the road on Thursday on the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse on the descent towards the finish and fell into a ravine. Mäder was revived on the spot and transported by helicopter to Chur Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
“Mäder was not responsive, was revived on the spot and then transported by helicopter to the Chur hospital,” his team told Bahrain Victorious in the evening. The race doctor was quickly at the scene of the accident and immediately provided help, the message said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Gino,” the team wrote. Magnus Sheffield (21) from the Ineos Grenadiers team fell in the same place, but the American got off lightly.
Road bike world champion Remco Evenepoel had raised serious allegations after the king’s stage. “I hope that today’s stage finale is food for thought for both the organizers and ourselves as riders. A mountain finish would have been possible without any problems. So it wasn’t a good decision to let us end the stage with this dangerous descent,” the Belgian wrote on Twitter.
The Swiss professional cyclist Roland Thalmann, who passed the spot minutes after the accident, was shocked. “In a long bend I saw two wheels that no longer looked good. Looking around I saw two riders quite deep in the chasm next to the road. It wasn’t a pretty sight,” he said on Swiss television SFR.
Before the death became known, Rolf Aldag, sports director at the German professional team Bora-hansgrohe, suggested a round table in the safety discussion. You have to “reflect calmly: What makes sense? What is purposeful? How are we going to continue? Teams, organizers and athletes have to sit at one table. But we should take our time, fast, tabloid headlines haven’t helped anyone,” Aldag told SID on Friday.
The 54-year-old rejected the criticism from the paddock at the course and called for prudence. “After a fall like this, everyone involved is very emotional. Reacting from the first shock makes no sense at all,” said Aldag: “It damages the credibility of our sport.”
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