The Tour de Suisse will go well until its end, Sunday, despite the death of Gino Mäder. The announcement was made on Friday evening, a few hours after the death of the Swiss rider, victim of a fall the day before in a descent, at the end of the fifth stage. On the other hand, the Bahrain-Victorious team, of which Mäder was a part, “withdrew from the Tour de Suisse and will not participate in tomorrow’s race”, the organizers said in a press release.
The race management specified that its decision had been taken “in consultation with the family of Gino Mäder” and “after consulting the teams and the riders as well as all the staff of the Tour de Suisse”. “Today was the worst day of my life,” said race director Olivier Senn. But tomorrow is another day and this is the day we have to deal with as an organization. »
The Women’s Tour of Switzerland starts this Saturday
The seventh stage between Tübach and Weinfelden will therefore take place on Saturday and the winner will be the first rider to cross the line, but “the timing for the general classification will take place 18.8 kilometers before the finish”, i.e. just after the last ascent of the day. , say the organizers. Finally, the eighth and final stage will take place on Sunday from St. Gallen to Abtwil in the form of a time trial.
The organizers also indicated that the Tour de Suisse women would be maintained and would start as planned this Saturday.