Bahrain Victorious team, others withdraw from Tour de Suisse after Gino Mäder death

The Bahrain Victorious team of Swiss rider Gino Mäder, who died on Thursday after crashing into a ravine, have withdrawn from the remainder of the Tour de Suisse.

Cyclist died Thursday on stage 5 of 8-day race

Flowers rest against a post alongside a road.
Flowers are seen on Friday at the curve were Swiss rider Gino Mäder fell during a high-speed descent of the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse. Mäder's Bahrain Victorious team announced on Saturday that they have withdrawn from the remainder of the competition. (Arnd Wiegmann/AFP via Getty Images)

The Bahrain Victorious team of Swiss rider Gino Mäder, who died on Thursday after crashing into a ravine, have withdrawn from the remainder of the Tour de Suisse.

The team made the announcement on social media on Saturday, two days after Mäder's death during the final descent on stage five of the eight-day race.

"Following the tragic loss of Gino Mäder, Team Bahrain Victorious has taken the decision to withdraw from Tour de Suisse," the team said in a statement on Twitter.

The 26-year-old crashed on the road towards La Punt and fell into a ravine where he was found unresponsive by the race doctor and resuscitated before being air-lifted to hospital.

His death was confirmed later that evening by Bahrain Victorious.

The team participated in stage six on Friday, which was neutralized and held in honour of Mäder, with riders completing the shortened route together as a mark of respect.

Later on Saturday, Tudor Pro Cycling and Intermarche-Circus-Wanty also said they would not continue in the race.

"Following the tragic accident of Gino Mäder, and after discussing with our riders and staff, team Intermarche-Circus-Wanty has decided to withdraw from #TourdeSuisse," the Belgian team wrote on Twitter.

"Our priority is to respect our riders' wellbeing."

"Under these difficult circumstances we feel it is the human way to respect the feelings of our riders and pay respect to Gino," Tudor Pro Cycling wrote.

Add some “good” to your morning and evening.

Get up to speed on what's happening in sports. Delivered weekdays.

...

The next issue of The Buzzer will soon be in your inbox.

Discover all CBC newsletters in the Subscription Centre.opens new window

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Google Terms of Service apply.