Gino Mäder (; 4 January 1997 – 16 June 2023) was a Swiss

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

and track cyclist. He last rode for

UCI WorldTeam A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road bicycle racing, road cycling, the UCI World Tou ...

. Mäder died as a result of an accident during the 2023 Tour de Suisse.

Early life and education

Gino Mäder was born on 4 January 1997, in Flawil in the Canton of St. Gallen, and raised in Wiedlisbach. He was baptized Gino in honour of Italian cyclist

Gino Bartali Gino Bartali, (; 18 July 1914 – 5 May 2000), nicknamed Gino the Pious and (in Italy) Ginettaccio, was a champion road cyclist. He was the most renowned Italian cyclist before the Second World War, having won the Giro d'Italia twice, in ...

; both his parents were cyclists as well. He began playing football at the age of five. Later he started as an apprentice at Swiss Olympic. Before turning professional on the road, Mäder was a high level track cyclist, having competed at the

2016 UEC European Track Championships The 2016 UEC European Track Championships was the seventh edition of the elite UEC European Track Championships in track cycling and took place at the Velodrome de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France, between 19 and 23 ...

in the team pursuit event. In 2018 he won two stages at the

Tour de l'Avenir Tour de l'Avenir () is a French road bicycle racing stage race, which started in 1961 as a race similar to the Tour de France and over much of the same course but for amateurs and for semi-professionals known as independents. Felice Gimondi, Joo ...

and one in the

Tour Alsace The Tour Alsace (or Tour d'Alsace) is a five-day road bicycle race held annually in Alsace, France. It was first held in 2004 and it is a 2.2 rated event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing co ...

and another in the Ronde de l'Isard in France. He came in fourth in the U-23 race of the 2018 UCI World Championships in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

, Austria, with his Swiss teammate Marc Hirschi winning the race. According to him, Hirschi's success was the result of a team effort. Several members of the U-23 team did their mandatory military service together. Mäder cycled with some of them since their U-15 days, and with Patrick Müller (who placed 9th) since about the age of 10.

Professional career

Mäder turned fully professional in 2019, with

. In October 2020, he was named a starter for the

2020 Vuelta a España The 2020 Vuelta a España was the 75th edition of the Vuelta a España, one of cycling's three grand tours. It was won for the second consecutive year by Primož Roglič of . The race was originally scheduled to be held from 14 August to 6 Se ...

. He achieved a second place in the penultimate stage of the Vuelta behind

David Gaudu David Gaudu (born 10 October 1996) is a French professional cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career In 2016, Gaudu won the Tour de l'Avenir, the most prestigious U23 cycling race. In addition to this he won the Peace Race U23 and finished 5t ...

and in the final standing he placed 20th. In early 2021, he joined Bahrain Victorious. On stage 7 of the 2021 Paris–Nice, Mäder was part of the breakaway, and nearly won the stage. However, in the final 50 metres, he was caught and outsprinted by

Primož Roglič Primož Roglič (; born 29 October 1989) is a Slovenian professional road bicycle racing, racing cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . A former ski jumping, ski jumper, Roglič switched to cycling after an accident suffered at Planica. Despite b ...

. Mäder was given the combativity award for the day. For the

Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...

in 2021, he was made an assistant to Mikel Landa who eventually quit early due to injury during stage 5. The next day, Mäder won the stage and dedicated his victory to the injured Mikel Landa. Mäder eventually had to abandon the Giro due to an injury on his left arm. Later in the year, Mäder rode the

2021 Vuelta a España The 2021 Vuelta a España was a three-week cycling race which took place in Spain between 14 August and 5 September 2021. It was the 76th edition of the Vuelta a España and the third and final Grand Tour (cycling), grand tour of the 2021 in men' ...

. After losing three minutes over the first eight stages, he began to perform strongly starting on stage nine, when he finished seventh on the mountain stage to Alto de Velefique. Over the rest of the race, he continued his strong performance while serving as a domestique for Jack Haig. On stage 17, which finished atop the

Lagos de Covadonga The Lakes of Covadonga (el. 1134 m.) () are two glacial lakes located on the region of Asturias, Spain. These lakes, often also called Lakes of Enol or simply Los Lagos, are Lake Enol and Lake Ercina located in the Picos de Europa ra ...

, Mäder finished with the elite group that finished a minute and a half down on the race leader, Primož Roglič. The result lifted him inside the top ten on GC. The next day, on the race's queen stage to , Haig and Mäder finished fifth and seventh, respectively, at almost a minute down, with Mäder moving up to eighth on GC. On the race's penultimate stage, Mäder and Haig, together with Roglič,

Enric Mas Enric Mas Nicolau () (born 7 January 1995) is a Spanish racing cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . Mas is primarily a climber and general classification contender. He has found the most success at the Vuelta a España, where he won a stage in 2 ...

, and

Adam Yates Adam Richard Yates (born 7 August 1992) is a British professional road and track racing cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . Yates placed fourth overall at the 2016 Tour de France and became the first British rider to win the Young rider clas ...

, comprised a five-man group that escaped from the GC group on the third to last climb. The group continued to build their advantage over the other contenders, with the move allowing Mäder to rise inside the top five overall and Haig to move into the third spot on GC. Mäder also took the lead in the young rider classification as he overtook

Egan Bernal Egan Arley Bernal Gómez (born 13 January 1997) is a Colombian professional cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . In 2019 he won the Tour de France, becoming the first Latin American rider to do so, and the youngest winner since 1909. At the 202 ...

. He held his position in the final day time trial to finish the Vuelta in fifth and confirming his victory in the young rider classification.

Charity

During the

, Mäder raised 10 Euros for every rider he beat in the general classification, with additional Euros for every cyclist he beat at the end of each stage. He eventually raised over 4000€ for the

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

-based NGO ''Just Diggit'' which focuses on re-greening deserted areas in Africa. In 2022, he pledged he would continue to raise money for environmental means donating 1 Euro for every rider he beat at each stage throughout the year. In 2024, the Vélo d'Or awards committee created a new award, the Gino Mäder Prize, to honor rider's social commitment, saying that Mader's career "was notable both for its sporting achievements, but also his dedication to social and environment causes."

Accident and death

During stage 5 of the

Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse () is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France, which is on the calend ...

on 15 June 2023, Mäder fell on a turn when descending from the stage's highest point at

Albula Pass The Albula Pass ( Romansh: ''Pass d'Alvra'' or , ) (el. 2312 m) is a Swiss mountain pass in the canton of Graubünden. It lies at the heart of the Albula Alps, on the watershed between the Albula, tributary of the Rhine and the Ova d'Alvra, tr ...

towards La Punt. The American cyclist Magnus Sheffield had fallen at almost the exact same spot a few minutes earlier. Mäder was found to be unconscious and submerged in water. After being resuscitated he was airlifted by a Rega helicopter to the in

Chur '' Chur (locally) or ; ; ; ; ; ; or ; , and . is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, town of the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of the Grisons and lies in the Alpine Rhine, Grisonian Rhine Valley, where ...

. He died from his injuries the following day, aged 26. Stage 6 of the Tour de Suisse was cancelled, but a 20 km tribute ride to the planned stage finish took place between Türlersee and Oberwil-Lieli. Bahrain Victorious, along with the Intermarché–Circus–Wanty and Tudor Pro Cycling teams, withdrew from the Tour on the next stage of competitive racing (stage 7 to

Weinfelden Weinfelden is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. It is the capital of the district of the same name. Weinfelden is an old town, which was known during Ancient Rome, Roma ...

), as did about 30 other riders.

Remco Evenepoel Remco Evenepoel (; born 25 January 2000) is a Belgian professional cyclist and Olympic gold medalist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . Evenepoel is widely regarded as one of the best Individual time trial, time trialists of his generation; he is a t ...

, the winner of stage 7, dedicated his victory to Mäder.

Major results

Mäder achieved the following major results:

Road

;2014 : 4th Road race, UEC European Junior Championships : 9th Overall

Grand Prix Rüebliland The Grand Prix Rüebliland is a junior (ages 17–18) multi-day cycling race held annually in the Canton of Aargau, Switzerland. It was part of the UCI Junior World Cup until 2007. Winners References External links

* Cycle races in Switz ...

: 9th Overall Tour du Pays de Vaud ;2015 : 1st MaillotSuiza

Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

, National Junior Championships : 2nd Overall Tour du Pays de Vaud ::1st Prologue & Stage 1 : 2nd Overall

* Cycle races in Switz ...

: 5th

, UCI World Junior Championships ;2017 : 3rd Piccolo Giro di Lombardia : 6th Eschborn–Frankfurt U23 ;2018 :

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stage 4 : 1st Stage 4 Ronde de l'Isard : 2nd

, National Under-23 Championships : 2nd Overall Tour of Hainan ::1st Stage 6 : 3rd Overall

::1st Stages 8 & 10 : 4th Road race, UCI World Under-23 Championships : 4th G.P. Palio del Recioto ;2021 :

::1st Stage 6 ::Held Jersey blue

after Stages 6–8 : 1st Stage 8

: 5th Overall

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Ital ...

::1st

Young rider classification Young rider classification () in a cycling jersey competition in multi-day stage race events, such as the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and many others, is an award for the current leader by overall time for riders below the age of twenty-six years ...

: 5th

, National Championships : 10th Overall

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional road bicycle racing, cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the ...

;2022 : 2nd Overall

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. It ...

;2023 : 5th Overall

General classification results timeline

Track

;2012 : 3rd Team sprint, National Championships ;2014 : 2nd Silver medal europe

Omnium, UEC European Junior Championships ;2015 : National Championships ::1st MaillotSuiza

Omnium ::2nd Madison (with Silvan Dillier) : 2nd Silver medal uci

Team pursuit, UCI World Junior Championships ;2017 : 3rd Team pursuit, UCI World Cup, Milton : 3rd Team pursuit, National Championships

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mader, Gino 1997 births 2023 deaths Cyclists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Cyclists who died while racing Olympic cyclists for Switzerland Sport deaths in Switzerland Swiss Giro d'Italia stage winners Swiss male cyclists Swiss track cyclists Tour de Suisse stage winners 21st-century Swiss sportsmen Cyclists from the canton of St. Gallen