Although the organizers have announced that the Tour de Suisse will come to an end with the last two stages in Tubach and St. Gallen, teams have chosen to withdraw from the race. The Swiss team Tudor and the Belgian formation Intermarché announced Saturday their withdrawal from the Tour de Suisse after the death the day before of the Swiss rider Gino Mäder.
“After careful consideration and discussion with the riders and staff, the team has decided not to continue participating in the Tour de Suisse this year,” Tudor said in a tweet. “In these difficult circumstances, we believe it is human to respect the feelings of our riders and pay tribute to Gino,” she said.
Similarly, Intermarché-Circus-Wanty announced on its social networks: “After consultation with our riders and our staff, we have decided to withdraw from the Tour de Suisse. Our priority is to respect the mental health of our runners.”
The Bahrain-Victorious, for which Mäder was racing, had announced for its part announced on Friday evening that it would not take the start of the 7th and penultimate stage, this Saturday in Tübach.
The Swiss Gino Mäder, 26, fell into a ravine in the technical and very fast descent of the Albula pass, in the final of the 5th stage, Thursday. Resuscitated on the spot and airlifted to Chur hospital, he succumbed to his injuries late Friday morning.
The 7th stage should take the peloton from Tübach to Weinfelden (184 km) this Saturday. The 8th and final stage on Sunday will be a 26 km time trial between St. Gallen and Abtwil.