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CYCLING

Britain’s Froome wins Tour de Romandie

British rider Chris Froome won the Tour de Romandie cycling race on Sunday — his third big win of the season.

Published: 28 April 2013 17:08 CEST
Britain's Froome wins Tour de Romandie
Froome in action. Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP

The 27-year-old Team Sky cyclist – the Olympic time-trial bronze medalist and second in last year's Tour de France – had 54 seconds to spare over second-placed Slovenian Simon Spilak while Portugal's Rui Costa filled third spot just as he did last year.

Germany's time-trial specialist Tony Martin displayed his expertise in the discipline by winning Sunday's final stage in Geneva.

Froome, already winner this season of the Tour of Oman and the International Criterium, will hope he goes on and replicates the Tour de France success of the past two winners of this race, Australia's Cadel Evans in 2011 and the Briton's compatriot and Sky team-mate Bradley Wiggins last year.

Froome, born in South Africa and brought up in Kenya, said it was a good sign for his Tour de France bid but added there was still work to do.

 "It has been a really good week for us I am really happy with my condition now in the build-up to the Tour de France," said Froome.

"This week I couldn't have done it without the help of a really strong team around me.

 "Every day since the prologue, they have protected me and kept me at the front of the race. I owe it to them this week.

 "Every race I do now is a good test for me, to see exactly where my condition is and what I need to work on. It has been a really good experience for me this week.

  "It is definitely a good omen, but the Tour is still two months away and I need to do a lot of hard training before then."

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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.

Published: 16 June 2023 12:54 CEST
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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