Swiss cycling stars shake off death trauma: “It was a good start again”

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From mourning together to racing mode in less than 24 hours. It is a great balancing act that the best Swiss cyclists are currently mastering. However, the framework provided by the state championships in Wetzikon ZH helped them to cope with the shock after the fatal accident of Gino Mäder († 26) in the Tour de Suisse.

Marc Hirschi (24) won the 152 kilometers in the Zurich Oberland on Sunday and is Swiss elite champion for the first time. “It was a good return for me, because it took place in a family environment,” says de Berner. “Everyone knows each other here, which helped.”

Hard fighting at 30 degrees

The mid-Sunday afternoon race over seven laps at 30 degrees was tough and spectacular. The new Swiss cycling team Tudor benefited from the numerical superiority and sometimes took the lead with several riders. Hirschi admits that he sometimes lost faith in overtaking the leaders. Simon Pellaud (30) was only beaten in the last meters by the Tudor team.

On Saturday, the drivers were still at the start in Wetzikon for another reason: for the private memorial drive to the funeral service on the open circuit in Oerlikon. Hirschi reflects on his victory: “For the respect for Gino, the occasion was super beautiful and very emotional.”

Reusser as strong as an ox

Marlen Reusser (31) also says that the Saturday dedicated to Gino Mäder was good to process the shock. Although it was special to start the day after the event and then at 8.30 in the morning.

Nevertheless, Reusser rode dominantly to her third Swiss championship title in road racing. Her confident strategy over the 109 kilometers worked. “I didn’t look at the course,” she reveals at the awards ceremony. She continuously optimized her driving style during the five rounds until she made the decisive attack before the last round and gained more than two minutes over the competition.

Source : Blick