Fear casts a shadow over peloton for Tour de France after Mäder’s death

When the Tour de France starts in Bilbao on Saturday, the peloton will try to push fear to the back of their minds, while knowing that danger and risk are constant presences in elite racing.

In the aftermath of the death of Gino Mäder, who crashed while descending at high speed in the Tour de Suisse on 16 June, those fears have become heightened. The riders remain on edge, a milieu in shock, with fear now shadowing every race.

Mäder’s death, violent, sudden and totally unexpected, has left a deep collective wound, especially for those who were racing alongside him that day. “We are all Gino,” the French professional Romain Bardet said on Instagram. “We always go faster and faster and push the limit. We flirt bend after bend with our limits. The day, however, is pitch black when fate decides to take one of us with it, a fellow human being, an acrobat in a Lycra suit.”

Adam Hansen, a former professional rider and the newly elected president of the rider’s union, the CPA, believes that professional racing has become “significantly more dangerous” in recent years. “The bikes have become much faster, and the overall competition level has reached new heights,” he says. “When all these factors combine, it creates a significantly higher level of danger.”

Hansen also believes that excessive speed was a factor in Mäder’s death. “It [the descent] was not technical, but the speed was dangerous,” he adds. “Maybe we need better education for the riders, or to somehow create a situation where they are unable to reach such high speeds. The riders need to be aware that cycling is a dangerous sport, and they must be well-informed about the risks.”

One of those who says that he is already very well aware of the dangers is the French