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Swiss cyclist Gino Mäder died Friday, one day after suffering a terrible crash during a mountain descent in stage 5 of the Tour de Suisse. Both Mäder and another racer, Magnus Sheffield of the U.S., were taken to the hospital after they were hurled into a ravine in the Swiss Alps.
Mäder, 26, crashed during the “queen stage” of the race — the label given to a multistage road race’s most challenging and grueling days, which usually involve multiple ascents and test even the strongest riders.
After reaching the Albula Pass at a height just under 7,600 feet, Mäder and other riders faced a roughly 10-kilometer descent, racing down to the stage’s finish line. In that segment, a motorcycle camera unit following the race leader clocked speeds of around 100 kph (62 mph).
It’s not known precisely what led to the crash; TV broadcasts of the race didn’t seem to catch the moment that sent the two riders off the road. “The circumstances of the accident are being clarified,” race organizers said on Thursday.
After Mäder’s death, the Graubünden cantonal police said on Friday that it is investigating the crash, along with the public prosecutor’s office. The police issued a call for witnesses to come forward, particularly if they have video evidence.The crash came in a high-speed portion of the course
During the descent, the two riders “crashed at very high speed,” race organizers said. Another rider, Roland Thalmann, described the scene.
“After a long curve, two bikes were lying on the side of the road, which didn’t look nice,” Thalmann said, according to Cycling News. “When I looked back, I saw that two riders were quite far down.
