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CYCLING

Think Danes only ride bikes? Think again. Record car sales for sixth year in a row.

The outside world might think of Denmark as a bicycling utopia, but in reality Danes are as dependent upon their cars as other developed nations.

Think Danes only ride bikes? Think again. Record car sales for sixth year in a row.
Car sales were up for the seventh year in a row and set an all-time record for the sixth consecutive year. Photo: Keld Navntoft/Scanpix
In 2016, auto sales in Denmark reached a record high with 222,924 personal vehicles sold according to figures released on Monday by the Danish Car Importers Association (De Danske Bilimportører – DBI).
 
The sale were 7.3 percent higher than in 2015 and 2016 was the seventh year in a row that Danes increased their vehicle purchases and the sixth consecutive year in which all-times sales records were set. 
 
Gunni Mikkelsen, the CEO of DBI, said the increase can be attributed to several factors. 
 
“We continue to see low interest rates, a general increase in real wages, a slight increase in employment and thus a need for labour mobility and last but not least there has been a generally high legvel of consumer confidence,” he said. 
 
“These are the things that have helped ensure record-high car sales again this year,” Mikkelsen added. 
 
DBI’s figures also showed that Danes are purchasing larger vehicles than in previous years. In 2016, sales of microcars and compact models accounted for less than half of the total personal vehicle sales. 
 
The record car sales are not, however, a sign that Danes have suddenly fallen out of love with the bicycle. Particularly in the capital, cycling is as popular as ever, with 2016 also going down as the year in which bicycles outnumbered cars in Copenhagen for the first time ever. 

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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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