After colliding on the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse, Swiss cyclist Gino Mader passed away at the age of 26.

On Thursday, while descending the Albula Pass, the rider for Team Bahrain Victorious was engaged in a high-speed collision with American Magnus Sheffield, 21. Sheffield plunged into a gully.

He was revived at the scene and then flown to a hospital in Chur, where he later died on Friday morning.

Mader was referred to as “one of the shining lights of our team” by Bahrain Victorious.

Sixth stage on Friday was scrapped, but the peloton will ride the last 20 kilometers neutralized in Mader’s honor.

The team that supported Mader said, “Gino was an extraordinary athlete, an example of tenacity, and a valued member of our team and the entire cycling community.”

“His skill, commitment, and love for the game have inspired us all.”

He was a fantastic person off the bike in addition to being a tremendously talented cyclist, according to team managing director Milan Erzen.

“Bahrain Victorious will compete in his honor, carrying a reminder of him with us wherever we go. The spirit and passion Gino shown will always be a part of our team, and we are eager to express them.

The last well-known rider fatality under such circumstances occurred at World Tour level in 2011, when Belgium’s Wouter Weylandt fell in the Giro d’Italia after rapidly descending, and he passed away from head injuries shortly after.

After colliding during the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse, Gino Mader is given medical attention, while Magnus Sheffield, an American rider with Ineos Grenadiers, is helped by medical personnel and then leaves.
After colliding with Magnus Sheffield, Gino Mader fell into a ravine; Magnus Sheffield was assisted in leaving the area.
Mader was described as a “rising star” by the UCI, which oversees cycling worldwide.

Olivier Senn, the Tour de Suisse’s race director, expressed his heartbreak on behalf of the entire organization, the teams, and the riders.

“What happened is heartbreaking and extremely difficult to describe. For the time being, all that matters is that we stood together with all the teams and riders in honor of Gino.

Gino was a wonderful rider and a fine human being; he didn’t deserve to depart from this world in such a way.

Rider Sheffield of the Ineos Grenadiers was transported to the hospital with soft tissue injury and a concussion.

Gino was “not just a tremendously talented bike rider and great competitor, he was also an incredible person and a friend to many of us,” Ineos stated, adding that they were “heartbroken” by the news.

“Everyone in the peloton and throughout our sport will feel his absence.”

Before turning professional on the road in 2019 and joining Team Bahrain Victorious two years later, Mader was a track cyclist.

He won the sixth stage of the Giro d’Italia in 2021, and at the Vuelta a Espana, he took first place in the young rider classification.

Road race world champion Remco Evenepoel of Soudal-Quickstep stated his worries about the “dangerous descent” near the finish line following the completion of stage five.

“Your smile will always be in our hearts,” was the response.
The UCI president, David Lappartient, expressed his “deep sadness” over the news of Mader’s passing and said it was a “terrible blow” to the cycling community. The Giro d’Italia said Mader’s “smile will forever be in our hearts.”

The 2018 Tour de France champion from Britain, Geraint Thomas, said: “I can’t believe what I’m reading. Such a depressing day. Everyone who knew and loved Gino is in our thoughts.

The professional motorcyclists’ group CPA continued, “This news makes our hearts ache. We send our condolences to his family, the team, and all of his numerous friends.

“Again, someone taken too soon,” remarked Thomas de Gendt, a five-time stage winner in the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, and Vuelta a Espana. Reading this terrible news makes me feel nauseous.

Alejandro Valverde, a former world champion, commented, “There are no words.”

“Mader’s death must reopen the conversation about racial ancestry” – evaluation
Matt Warwick, a cycling correspondent for BBC Sport

Gino Mader was a gifted rider who was well-respected for his capacity to scale the sport’s tallest mountains with the best competitors.

His triumph during the 2021 Giro d’Italia on the climb to Ascoli Piceno, in which he defeated Tour de France winner Egan Bernal among others, will now serve as the capstone to a life and career brutally cut short.

However, his passing serves as a reminder that cycling is one of the most risky high-profile professional sports because it is played on restricted public roads with little to no safety for riders who are pressed for time after challenging mountain descents.

Riders frequently travel at speeds of over 100 kph, as British rider Tom Pidcock showed when he won the stage to Alpe d’Huez in the Tour de France last year.

Although a significant portion of what makes professional road cycling so captivating for its followers is the descent, Mader’s passing must revive discussion about whether improvements should be made to such a hazardous activity.