Team Bahrain Victorious withdraw from Tour de Suisse after Mader death

Team Bahrain Victorious, Tudor Pro Cycling and Intermarche-Circus-Wanty have withdrawn from the remainder of the Tour de Suisse following the death of Swiss rider Gino Mader, who died on Thursday after crashing into a ravine.

The team announced on social media on Saturday, two days after Mader's death, during the final descent on stage five of the eight-day race.

"Following the tragic loss of Gino Mader, Team Bahrain Victorious has taken the decision to withdraw from Tour de Suisse," the team said in a statement on Twitter.

🇨🇭 #Tourdesuisse

Following the tragic loss of Gino Mäder, Team Bahrain Victorious has taken the decision to withdraw from Tour de Suisse @tds

📸 @SprintCycling pic.twitter.com/J7dQ8fzK5a

— Team Bahrain Victorious (@BHRVictorious) June 17, 2023

The 26-year-old crashed on the road towards La Punt and fell into a ravine, where he was found unresponsive by the race doctor and resuscitated before being air-lifted to hospital.

His death was confirmed later that evening by Bahrain Victorious.

The team participated in stage six on Friday, which was neutralised and held in honour of Mader, with riders completing the shortened route together as a mark of respect.

Later on Saturday, Switzerland's Tudor Pro Cycling and Belgium's Intermarche-Circus-Wanty also said they would not continue in the race.

"Following the tragic accident of Gino Mader, and after discussing with our riders and staff, team Intermarche-Circus-Wanty has decided to withdraw from #TourdeSuisse," the Belgian team wrote on Twitter.

"Our priority is to respect our riders' wellbeing."

"Under these difficult circumstances, we feel it is the human way to respect the feelings of our riders and pay respect to Gino," Tudor Pro Cycling wrote.

Following the tragic accident of Gino Mäder, and after discussing with our riders and staff, team Intermarché-Circus-Wanty has decided to withdraw from #TourdeSuisse. Our priority is to respect our riders’ wellbeing.

All our thoughts go to Gino’s family, friends and teammates.

— Intermarché-Wanty (@IntermarcheW) June 17, 2023