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Slovenian rider wins Tour of Switzerland

Slovenian Simon Spilak claimed his second overall Tour of Switzerland victory on Sunday, as Rohan Dennis won the closing time trial in Schaffhausen.

Published: 19 June 2017 11:52 CEST
Slovenian rider wins Tour of Switzerland
Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP
Katusha rider Spilak took a 52-second advantage over Damiano Caruso into the final day, and he finished four seconds behind the Italian in fifth on the day to secure the yellow jersey.
   
The 30-year-old also won the title in 2015, and he will go into July's Tour de France hoping to become the first man to complete the Tour of Switzerland-Grand Boucle double since Belgian great Eddy Merckx in 1974.
   
Australian Dennis, 27, went into the ninth stage as the favourite, and he completed the 28.6km course 29 seconds quicker than his teammate Stefan Keung as Caruso completed a BMC clean sweep of the top three.
   
The win was Dennis' third in time trials this season, while he also won the 6km prologue in Switzerland last week.
 

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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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