André Drege of the Coop-Repsol team was tragically killed in a crash at the Tour of Austria on Saturday. The Norwegian was just 25 years old.
The crash occurred on a descent during stage 4 of the race. According to a statement from the Tour of Austria, Drege fell on a descent off the Großglockner, which is the highest mountain in Austria.
Media reports suggest that the full extent of the news was not known to the rest of the race until after Filippo Ganna had won the stage. Post-stage celebrations were then cancelled.
Drege was a promising up-and-comer who had already taken seven victories in UCI races this year. Escape Collective has confirmed that he recently signed a contract with Jayco-AlUla to join the WorldTour from 2025.
Update: The Tour of Austria organisers announced on the morning of Sunday 7th July that the final stage would not be contested due to the tragic death on the Glockner stage. At the express wish of André Drege’s father along with his team Coop-Repsol, there would instead be a neutralised condolence ride in his memory after a short ceremony at the start in Kufstein.