The Tour de Suisse peloton paid tribute to the late Gino Mader

by riding the last 20 km of the sixth stage, which was cancelled after the Swiss rider's death was announced Friday morning. Even before that tragic confirmation arrived, his companions naturally had little motivation to race bicycles as they awaited news of their fallen comrade.

Romain Bardet echoed the sentiments of many during their anxious prayers. 'There has been no news since last night. No news since last night. Nobody is thinking about the race anymore."

A few minutes later, Bahrain Victorious announced that Meder had been injured in a crash on the descent of Albula Pass on stage 5. The Tour de Suisse immediately postponed the start of this stage and decided to cancel it shortly thereafter, leading to a memorial parade in the last 20 km.

The stage was originally scheduled to start in La Punte, climb the Albula Pass, and pass through the area where Mader and Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) crashed on Thursday afternoon. However, rock avalanches in the area forced organizers to shorten the stage to early Friday morning.

The stage change was all the more poignant given that the rock fall was caused by thawing permafrost. Last year, he donated one Swiss franc for every rider who finished behind him in the race during the 2022 season to help fight climate change.

"As a child, I had the opportunity to see the glaciers known as the 'Face of the Alps' and the 'Eternal Ice. ' "The world's glaciers lose about 300 billion tons of ice every year. I want future generations to experience glaciers."

Olivier Sen, race director of the Tour de Suisse, announced that after consulting with the Maeder family, they would honor their late colleague by riding the remaining 20 km of stage 6 from the shores of Lake Thürer to the finish line in Oberwil-Lieri together. A minute of silence was observed in Maeder's memory before the riders boarded the team bus and headed to the start of the memorial ride.

"The entire organization, all teams and all riders are heartbroken. The entire organization, all the teams, all the riders are heartbroken. It's really hard to put into words," Zen told reporters.

Mader was an unquestionable talent on the bike, as evidenced by his stage win at the 2021 Giro d'Italia and his fifth-place finish at the Vuelta a España that same year. His interviews, both during and away from the race, illustrated his wide-ranging interests that went far beyond the bike.

Professional cycling sometimes tends to take itself very seriously--too seriously--but Mader's free-spirited attitude always seemed like an antidote to that. His every action when he was on the bike, and his every utterance when he wasn't on the bike, was full of playfulness. His enthusiasm for cycling and, above all, for the people he met through this sport was evident.

The somber mood of the afternoon was totally incompatible with the kind of joy that Mader embodied. Cycling has become sadly accustomed over the years to such occasions when a bike race morphs into a funeral procession. As the peloton departed Türren, it was hard not to think of similar, rolling memorials for Fabio Casartelli, Wouter Weylandt, and Björg Lambrecht.

Most of the teams wore black armbands, with yellow-jerseyed Matthias Skjelmoes (Trek-Segafredo) leading the early stages of the Memorial Ride, while the remaining Burleen-Victorias teammates of Maeder, Pero Bilbao, Nikias Arndt, Philippe Maciejuk, Fran Miholiewicz, Johan Preiss-Peitelsen, and Antonio Tiberi took the lead with a few kilometers to go.

The spectators gathered along the roadside greeted the passing racers with gentle applause, rather than the usual loud cheers. Occasionally, a small voice would call out "bravo" to the crowd. Some held up handmade signs honoring the medalists. Some held up flowers. Some stood silently. All came together to show solidarity with those who raced with Meader and with all who loved him.

"I spoke with his father and mother. I think it's important for them. They want us to remember him in a positive way, not in a sad way," Zen said after the race.

Meader's mother, Sandra, followed the procession from the passenger seat of the Bahrain Victorious team car. In the final kilometer, the peloton slowed down to allow the Bahrain Victorious athletes and the two team cars to move ahead, passing first under the finish banner that read "We ride for you, Gino."

The crowd was at its best here, and the applause was a little louder. Some of the Bahraini riders even raised their hands to commend their support. After crossing the finish line, the rest of the peloton began to look for the Bahraini riders and extended their arms in comfort. World champion Remco Evenpole and Swiss riders Stephan Küng and Stephan Bissegger offered their condolences directly to Sandra Mader.

Skjelmors, in the yellow jersey, obligingly gave his thoughts on the afternoon to the assembled journalists. 'It's sad. It was really strange to be on the bike today. It was a real shock to see only six Bahraini riders finish together. It pushed me to my mental limits." Like many riders, he wasn't even sure if he should continue racing on Saturday.

"At the moment I've only done 20 km of neutral. I don't know what will happen next. I don't know how I feel myself. Right now I just want to go home and sleep."

Shortly thereafter, Zen went to the press room where the race director confirmed that he would be discussing the remaining dates of the Tour de Suisse with the riders and team representatives. A decision on whether to continue might not be made until Saturday morning.

"It is not a simple decision. Many people involved, including players, team members, and staff, are heartbroken by this situation. We all knew him well.

"We need to talk about whether it is feasible to hold the race and whether the staff is up to it. We are not going to push it through just because we want to or have to. If everyone wants to do it, is in good physical condition, and has the right mindset to have a safe race tomorrow and the day after, we will do it.

"We will discuss with the UCI, the AIGCP, and the UCI what to do. It will be an open discussion. We will come to a common decision. Not our decision alone, but the decision of all parties. That discussion will take place within a few hours and the decision could be made tomorrow morning. We don't know yet."