Awful, awful news.
Cyclist Gino Mäder, 26, dies following crash down ravine. 
6 Likes
Watching the riders slowly riding the last 20km of the Tour de Suiss stage 6 in memory of Gino. So tragic and heartbreaking.
5 Likes
I very much agree with Remco Evenepoel that a mountain finish would have made a lot more sense. and imo media don’t have a clue when they claim that a mountain finish wouldn’t have been very spectator friendly. this isn’t about spectators, it’s always about rider safety. a steep descent after 200km with two HC and one cat.1 climb is exhausting. lose concentration, lose control, lose your life…
too much is happening at the moment, the motorcyclist who crashed head on with a cyclist and died during the Hamburg Ironman the other day, the women who collectively abandoned the Tour de Pyrénées because of severe safety issues…
not sure if I should be angry or sad, probably both
10 Likes
Both.
4 Likes
I watched yesterday’s stage. It happened off camera and even the announcers didn’t find out about it until later in the day after they went off the air.
I find it hard to fully blame the race or the course for the crash. The top riders all went thru without an issue, and Ayuso was taking lots of risks. Road racing is an inherently dangerous sport and horrific crashes can and do happen even on the flattest of terrain. And I’ve seen plenty of races with faster and more technical descents that were raced without incident or complaint. The riders do have to take at least some account for their own risks they choose to take on any course.
The women’s tour, tho, that was completely on the organizers. Not having the course fully closed so that vehicles and pedestrians could get in the way is inexcusable.
But I am hardly an expert in designing road race courses or in racing tactics. And at the end of the day it’s awful and unnecessarily tragic for a rider of any caliber to die while racing. So if there are reasonable changes that could be made to make races like this safer for the riders then they should be considered.
3 Likes
I do agree about the risk taking but a fatigued system is slower when it comes to decision making but I also kinda like the way Remco Evenepoel looks at this issue from both sides
https://twitter.com/EvenepoelRemco/status/1669398082012708873?t=YLzWIkiF2FnnlZ6dnf-Pzw&s=19
btw. here’s a link to the Hamburg crash. two way traffic and no markers is completely crazy
2 Likes
I saw Evenepoel’s comments too, and completely agree. I’m guilty of pushing the envelope on downhill segments, always feeling I’m being completely under control and ready as I’m doing it, but in all honesty, I know that I was only under complete control IF the worst didn’t happen. I’ve met cars on extra sharp corners, stayed where I needed to be safely and rolled on without issue.
But a little gravel in the wrong place at the same time would have changed that outcome, and I readily admit I would have regretted having pushed so hard at that point.
And that’s just a Strava segment, sometimes even one I already own the KOM.
When there’s money, stage wins, maybe more, on the line, you know the riders are pushing the envelope AND beyond.
I crashed on a mountain bike descent the other day, rough singletrack, narrow anyway but grown in so tight that trail was often hidden beneath… I had negotiated some of the worst switchbacks and rock gardens on that trail already, flying ahead of my own KOM time, when a tighter than 90 degree semi-switchback turn was my undoing. Got around it but a high inside rock caught my rear wheel and raised the rear of the bike high and pulled my front end left just enough that another perfectly (MIS)placed embedded high rock stopped me cold and threw me head first into the trail. Helmet did its job extremely well, and I broke the fall impact with my hands. Got up and finished another 30 miles and 3500’ of climbing that day, with much more technical descending to follow, including the same trail again that bit me earlier. Now I’m home nursing a sprained finger and strained pectoral muscles, hopefully no cracked ribs.
It wasn’t worth the risk, frankly.
I’m not racing for anything but the fun of riding and using bike handling skills and oh, yes, the sometimes too important Strava placement, whatever it might be.
I’ve done some reevaluation of the risks and penalties these last couple days. I’m 65 and don’t heal as fast as when I was younger, but even if I did, I realize there have been a LOT of close calls that might have gone differently and changed life greatly (and not for the better.)
Gino Mader won’t have the opportunity to reconsider and do it differently, and that’s tragic.
I hope I WILL do it differently going forward, and WILL avoid tragedies that can be controlled better. Not all of them are, and more will happen to some, certainly. But races need to do their absolute best to eliminate as many as possible. That DOES include realizing what pushes riders beyond their limits and accounting for that in course design, course management, crowd management. (Crowd management is often TERRIBLE, IMO, but that’s another subject.)
There is no perfect solution to this problem and some risk is ALWAYS involved, but incidents like these, if they accomplish nothing else, should at least cause the bike racing community to make changes for the better going forward. It’s so sad that the loss of a human life is sometimes what it takes to bring this about. I hope Gino’s loss will result in greater awareness and discussion among those who will face similar situations in the future.
7 Likes
I’ll add a PS. to my last comment, just to clarify. (Having reread my remarks, I didn’t want to mislead anyone.)
My ride was NOT a race, just a totally solo ride mostly in remote backcountry. The only racing going on was inwardly motivated. My comments about the races and racing community were prompted concerning the professional and amateur racing scene in general.
2 Likes
I live less than a mile from Specialized world HQ. There are a lot of group rides here every day. A few years back there was a guy visiting from MA that went on a lunch ride with the Specialized group. They were on a winding descent and he could not manage to keep his bike in his lane. He hit a car head on. He was flown to Stanford Hospital but did not survive.
I have ridden that road myself and it is a very technical descent and not for the faint of heart. I have lived here 25 years and have made that descent maybe three times. Just too scary for me. We all like to push the envelope, but getting home to my family is always more important.
7 Likes
My thoughts and prayers for Gino and his family and friends.
R.I.P.
1 Like