The organization of the Tour de France will install mats on the descent of the Col de la Loze, the highest point of the 110th edition covered during the 17th stage, Christian Prudhomme revealed this Friday.
This decision of the organization was made, according to the director of the Tour, even before the death of the Swiss Gino Mäder during the Tour of Switzerland – the 26-year-old cyclist overtook a curve, while descending in the fifth stage. , and he fell into a ravine, ending up dying the next day- but, after “a drama that nobody wants to relive”, he takes on special significance.
The measure is also part of an initiative by the International Cycling Union (UCI), which this Friday presented a new commission, called SAFER (safer, in English translation), aimed at improving the safety of cyclists at a time when serious accidents occur. more and more numerous.
“The safety of cyclists is a permanent concern,” defended the Tour director, indicating that the organization will install 30-meter-wide mats, used in the Courchevel and Méribel Ski World Championships in February, “in case any rider falls into this local, don’t slip into the void”.
Christian Prudhomme also praised the work of the communities so that the roads that the 110th edition of the Tour de France will travel are in good condition and recalled that a new signaling system will also be installed, tested three weeks ago at the Dauphiné Criterion. to point out dangers in time.
“We are more vigilant, but there will never be a 100% solution. Cycling is a magnificent sport, but cruel, ”she noted.
Grande Boucle will also honor Gino Mäder by retiring number 61 this year. The Spanish Mikel Landa, leader of the Bahrain Victorious, which was the Swiss team, will wear the number 62.
“The death of a cyclist is an absolute drama. Gino dreamed of participating in the Tour, so we came up with this idea and proposed it to the team, who passed it on to his family. They immediately said yes,” revealed Prudhomme. .
On June 15, the 26-year-old Mäder fell downhill en route to the finish line at the end of the 211 kilometer bumpy ride between Fiesch and La Punt, along with Magnus Sheffield (INEOS), and was revived by the race doctor. before being transported by helicopter to the hospital.
The next day, Bahrain Victorious announced that “Gino has lost the battle to recover from the serious injuries he sustained.”
A professional since 2019, Mäder added three victories, one of them in the 2021 Tour of Italy, the year in which he achieved his best performance in grand tours, when he was fifth in the Tour of Spain.
The Swiss was also known for fighting for causes, and in 2022, he donated a Swiss franc for every rider who fell behind him in the races he entered.
The 110th Tour of France starts on Saturday in Bilbao (Spain), with the Portuguese Nelson Oliveira and Ruben Guerreiro (Movistar) and Rui Costa (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) among the 176 participating cyclists, and ends on July 23 in Paris. with the Champs Elysées witnessing the ‘coronation’ of the successor to the Danish Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma).
Source: TSF
