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CYCLING

US leaders to Copenhagen for bicycling inspiration

The US Secretary of Transportation will visit Copenhagen on April 18th to gather insight on how Denmark has created a successful bicycle culture.

Published: 15 April 2016 14:49 CEST
US leaders to Copenhagen for bicycling inspiration
Secretary Foxx will visit Copenhagen to gather insights. Photo: Heb

If Anthony Foxx is serious about making the United States more bicycle-friendly, he couldn't have chosen a better place to visit.

The US secretary of transportation will be in Copenhagen on Monday to take inspiration from the best cycling city in the world.

Foxx’s schedule for the trip will include a bike ride through the capital alongside Danish Transport Minister Hans Christian Schmidt.

“I am looking forward to welcoming my American colleague, Secretary Foxx, and for us to tour Copenhagen on bike, showing how we develop infrastructure such as 'Cykelslangen' to promote cycling, and how such infrastructure projects function as drivers of urban development and renewal,” Schmidt said, referring to the bridge connecting Dybbølsbro and Bryggebroen, which has been the subject of international praise due to its innovative design and rider-friendly opportunities.

Cykelslangen is a designated bicycle bridge with a unique architectural design. Photo: Leif Jørgensen/Wikimedia

Cykelslangen is a designated bicycle bridge with a unique architectural design. Photo: Leif Jørgensen/Wikimedia.

The bridge is just one of several projects Copenhagen has completed in recent years to further improve its bicycling infrastructure. Other additions include Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson’s futuristic-looking Cirkelbroen (the Circle Bridge) and bicycle 'superhighways' running to the suburbs. 

Future upgrades will include a bicycle and pedestrian companion to the congested Langebro and the seemingly-perpetually delayed Inderhavnsbroen, which suffered additional setbacks after it looked like it was finally completed last summer. That bridge, which will connect Nyhavn and Christianshavn, was supposed to be done in 2013 but is now set to open at an undisclosed point later this year.

Joining Foxx on the trip to Denmark will be the mayors of three large US cities – Austin, Texas; Portland, Oregon and South Bend, Indiana – as well as the US Ambassador to Denmark, Rufus Gifford, and the CEO of the Danish Cyclists’ Federation, Klaus Bondam.

Apart from gathering insight on local bicycle strategy, the trip will also include discussions on further collaboration on transport policy between the two countries.

“A fruitful, constructive cooperation between Denmark and the US is important in all policy areas, including transport,” Schmidt said. 

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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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