Fabian Cancellara posted a beautiful, and heartbreaking tribute to the late Gino Mäder
The former world champion remembers his fellow Swiss rider
Photo by:
Fabian Cancellara/Facebook
Like so many in the cycling world, Fabian Cancellara was shocked to hear the news about the death of Gino Mäder during the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse. The Bahrain Victorious rider had a horrible crash on a descent in the final kilometers of the race, and was rushed to hospital. Despite the efforts of emergency services, the 26-year-old would die the morning of Stage 6. That stage would be neutralized and ridden as a tribute to the fallen cyclist.
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After his death, many of his peers and fans in cycling would pay tribute to the rider. Several teams would also withdraw from the race, including Mäder’s Bahrain Victorious squad. On Saturday, Cancellara posted a photo on social media from 2010 when he met the young Mäder. At the time, Spartacus was riding for the Danish team CSC. The former Paris-Roubaix, Tour of Flanders and Milan – San Remo winner is now retired, but still very active in the cycling world. He founded the Tudor Pro Cycling team, which upgraded to a ProTeam in 2023. The squad hopes to continue to evolve and eventually be a WorldTour team.
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On the Facebook post, he is presenting Mäder, 13 at the time, with a leader’s jersey at the Offene Rennbahn Zürich Oerlikon, a race in Switzerland.
“Thirteen years ago at the Offene Rennbahn Zürich Oerlikon you were standing in front of me: a young, talented boy with a promising future. Today we were at the same place with you in our hearts and minds,” the caption read. “Ciao Gino, we‘ll always be riding for and with you.”
