Felix Schröder, Jana Glose and Jens Marx, dpa
Remco Evenepoel kissed his fist, stretched his index finger towards the sky and put his hand on his left breast.
During his emotional stage victory, the Belgian world champion's thoughts were entirely with the professional cyclist Gino Mäder, who had died the day before. The accidental death of the Swiss rider had robbed this year's Tour de Suisse of any normality, and the sporting results on the final weekend remained a side note.
"Of course, this victory goes to Gino and his family. It was the best way to honour him and pay respect to his family. It didn't matter to me that I couldn't win a time. It was just for Gino," said Evenepoel after crossing the finish line as a soloist ahead of Wout van Aert and Bryan Coquard on the seventh stage between Tübach and Weinfelden on Saturday.
Drivers wore mourning colours
It was only late on Saturday night that the organisers decided to continue. This made the stage special: instead of a starting signal, white doves were flown. The riders wore mourning flags and there was a minute's silence. Because the time for the overall classification was only taken 25 kilometres before the end, the peloton rode in a closed group for a long time.
Only at the end did the pros pick up the pace and there were attacks. As expected, the outcome had no impact on the overall standings. The Dane Mattias Skjelmose continued to wear the yellow jersey, which he also defended in the final time trial on Sunday. Spaniard Juan Ayuso took the day's victory on the 25.7 kilometres between St. Gallen and Abtwil, finishing second overall behind Skjelmose and ahead of Evenepoel.
The continuation of the tour had been controversially discussed. Tour director Olivier Senn said in an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency that he was "one hundred per cent sure" that it was the right decision. "When we made it, I was sure that it was the best possible decision, but I wasn't sure whether it was the right one. For me personally, it was important to not just focus on the grief, but also on the fond memories." He described the previous two and a half days as a "bad film".
Fatal accident
The final days of the 86th edition of the Tour in Switzerland were dominated by the dead Swiss professional cyclist. On Thursday, Mäder crashed into a ravine at high speed on the descent from the Albula Pass to the finish town of La Punt in the final kilometres of the fifth stage, had to be resuscitated and succumbed to his serious injuries in hospital a day later.
His death shocked the entire cycling world. The originally planned sixth stage was cancelled, but instead the pros remembered their colleague on Friday with a memorial ride over 20 kilometres.
Main field greatly reduced on Saturday
Despite the organisers' decision, in consultation with the athletes, teams and Mäder's family, to continue the Tour, the peloton was greatly reduced on Saturday. The Bahrain-Victorious team, to which the Swiss rider belonged, had already announced the withdrawal of its riders from the Tour shortly after his death. The Swiss cycling team Tudor Pro Cycling and the Belgian team Intermarché Circus Wanty also withdrew after the dramatic incident. In addition, 17 riders from other teams also withdrew. Among them were Swiss professionals, including Stefan Küng, who had won the opening time trial.
The exact circumstances of the accident are still unclear. The authorities are investigating and have also launched an appeal for witnesses. In addition to Mäder, 21-year-old Magnus Sheffield also fell in a similar place and suffered concussion and minor bruising. Sheffield may therefore be able to help clarify the circumstances of the accident.
Time and again, cyclists die in crashes and collisions. The tragic death had once again triggered a debate about the safety of the riders. It was not a clever idea to place the finish of such a stage after a descent, criticised world champion Evenepoel shortly after the crash on Thursday.
"Perhaps we need to make sure in future that descents are not made so close to the finish," said former pro Fabian Wegmann when asked by dpa. At the same time, he defended the organisers: "That was a riding mistake, from what I've seen." The organisers have often organised this stage in this way. "You can't just say that it's only the organiser's responsibility now," Wegmann emphasised.
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