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BRITAIN

Cameron: Brits are fast because they pedal hard

Prime Minister David Cameron said Thursday that Britain's Olympic cycling glory has driven France "mad", and rejected claims of cheating by pointing out that the riders' wheels are made across the Channel.

Cameron: Brits are fast because they pedal hard
Harry Metcalfe

"We've got a system that seems to be delivering. It's driving the French mad," Cameron told BBC radio in an interview.

"I did an interview with French television yesterday and they virtually accused us of cheating.

"I think they found the Union Jacks on the Champs Elysees a bit hard to take," he said, referring to Briton Bradley Wiggins' victory last month in the
Tour de France.

In the interview with France 2 television broadcast on Wednesday evening, Cameron laughed off French suspicions about the hosts' stellar success in the
velodrome at the London Games.

"The French should know our secret because you make our wheels," Cameron said, referring to the French manufacturer Mavic.

"You know they're round. They go fast because they pedal hard," he added, laughing.

The British team took seven out of the 10 titles in the velodrome, prompting French technical director Isabelle Gautheron to say she was "perplexed" by the success and leading to calls on social networking sites of cheating.

A majority (70 percent) of 50,000 people who responded to a question in the sports newspaper L'Equipe about whether the British were "tainted by cheating"
also said they suspected foul play.

But Cameron said: "I think that it's unfair to think that just because someone wins you have to doubt it. The first reaction should be to say, 'well
done, congratulations'.

"I understand that for France, which is a great cycling nation, that it must be a bit hard to take but we have really done well and I'm sure that if France had won we would have been happy for you," he added, still smiling.

Britain's success has been seen as the perfect response to French President Francois Hollande's quip early in the Games that the British had rolled out
the red carpet for French winners after early successes, notably in the pool.

At the time, France were ahead of Britain in the medal table but the host nation has more than made up ground and now occupies third spot behind China
and the United States with 48 medals, including 22 gold.

France has 28, including eight gold, and is sixth in the table.

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CYCLING

Swiss rider dies after fall into ravine on Tour of Switzerland

Swiss rider Gino Maeder has died from the injuries he sustained when he plunged into a ravine during a stage of the Tour of Switzerland, his team Bahrain-Victorious said on Friday.

Swiss rider dies after fall into ravine on Tour of Switzerland

Maeder, 26, fell during a high-speed descent on the fifth stage between Fiesch and La Punt on Thursday, after an exhausting day marked by three ascents over 2,000 metres altitude.

He had been found “lifeless in the water” of a ravine below the road, “immediately resuscitated then transported to the hospital in Chur by air”, organisers said.

But the next day, “Gino lost his battle to recover from the serious injuries he sustained,” Bahrain-Victorious said in a statement.

“It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we must announce the passing of Gino Mäder,” his team wrote in a statement.

“On Friday June 16th, following a very serious fall during the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse, Gino lost his fight to recover from the serious injuries he had suffered. Our entire team is devastated by this tragic accident, and our thoughts and prayers are with Gino’s family and loved ones at this incredibly difficult time.”

“Despite the best efforts of the phenomenal staff at Chur hospital, Gino couldn’t make it through this, his final and biggest challenge, and at 11:30am we said goodbye to one of the shining lights of our team,” the team said in a statement.

Maeder had enjoyed a strong start to the season, finishing fifth in the Paris-Nice race.

American rider Magnus Sheffield also fell on the same descent from Albula, during the most difficult stage of the race with multiple climbs. The Ineos-Grenadiers rider was hospitalised with “bruises and concussion,” organisers said.

On Thursday, world champion Remco Evenepoel criticised the decision to compete on such a dangerous road.

“While a summit finish would have been perfectly possible, it wasn’t a good decision to let us finish down this dangerous descent,” the Belgian wrote on Twitter.

“As riders, we should also think about the risks we take going down a mountain.”

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