Tour de Suisse to resume for final stages following death of Gino Mäder
The organisers of the Tour de Suisse have announced that the race will resume for its final two days this weekend after Friday's stage to Oberwil-Lieli was neutralised as a tribute to the late Gino Mäder.
The Swiss rider died in hospital in Chur from injuries sustained in a crash on the descent of the Albulapass in the finale of stage 5. Mäder's Bahrain Victorious teammates, who led the peloton across the finish line at the end of Friday’s memorial ride, have withdrawn from the remainder of the Tour de Suisse.
Although the peloton will cover the course of stage 7 in full, the timing for the general classification will be taken 18.8km from the finish, ahead of the descent off the category 3 climb of Ottenberg. The Tour de Suisse concludes on Sunday with an individual time trial in Abtwil.
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The third edition of the Tour de Suisse Women, which gets underway on Saturday, will go ahead as planned.
In a statement late on Friday evening, the Tour de Suisse management said they had consulted with Mäder's family as well as with riders, teams and race organisation staff before deciding to proceed with the event.
"After consultation with all the people involved, we as the management stand united behind this decision and are trying to hold the last two stages of the men's race in an appropriate setting," said Tour de Suisse director Olivier Senn.
The statement outlined that Saturday's stage would be raced in full, but that the timing for the overall classification would be taken before the final descent.
"[Stage 7] will be held as a race. However, the timing for the overall classification takes place already 18.8 kilometres before the finish. The stage win will be decided on the finish line in Weinfelden," read the statement.
"The time trial on Sunday, June 18, 2023 will also be held in race mode. Accordingly, there will be an overall winner and a final classification of the 2023 Tour de Suisse."
Senn confirmed that the four-day Tour de Suisse Women would go ahead without any alterations to the planned schedule. "The women and all the teams deserve a Tour de Suisse Women," he said. "We are convinced that we can offer the women riders a professional and safe race."
