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Welcome back to Spin Cycle. Escape Collective’s news digest.
Today is a sad day. We’re sure you’ve seen the news that Gino Mäder has tragically passed away following a crash at the Tour de Suisse. As hard as it is for us who follow the sport from somewhat of a distance, it is impossible to imagine what his family, friends and colleagues within his team and the wider peloton are going through right now. Our thoughts are with them.
We’ll not be bringing you a normal Spin Cycle offering today. It doesn’t feel right. Instead, we’ll take the time to remember Gino Mäder and the impact he made during his life alongside the usual Feed Zone and TV guide for this weekend.
Remembering Gino Mäder
“Being a kid I had the chance, the luck to see glaciers,” Gino Mäder tweeted on August 19, 2022.
‘The face of the Alps’, ‘Eternal Ice’, he quoted, before continuing. “Nothing eternal about them as the glaciers of the world lose around 300 billion tons of ice every year. I hope future generations can experience glaciers too.
“That’s why I donate 1 CHF per rider that finishes behind me in every race of this 2022 season towards the fight against climate change. So far 3,341 have finished behind me.”
This pledge followed his original one at the 2021 Vuelta a España, where he donated €1 to an environmental organisation for each rider he beat on every stage.
Across the two fundraising efforts, he raised €7,688. Gino put his money where his mouth is, stuck his neck out when it came to something he cared deeply about and made his mark.
Stage 6 of the Tour de Suisse has understandably been neutralised and shortened to the final 20 km, which will be ridden by the peloton in tribute to Mäder.
But before he passed away, the stage had already been shortened, with the first 66 km taken out due to a rock avalanche above Breinz, close to the original race route.
The glacier melt, mentioned above by Gino, can destabilise mountain slopes and lead to rockslides. The town of Breinz has been evacuated since May due to concerns of falling rocks. In Switzerland it’s a global issue impacting peoples’ daily lives and Gino was making his voice heard.
He made those thoughts clear in an interview with our Kate Wagner, where he also discussed the ethical dilemmas and considerations with sports sponsorship. Only recently turned 25 at the time, he had the courage to speak his mind when many are tempted to choose an easier life by keeping their thoughts and beliefs to themselves.
On a lighter, if still sombre note, Gino had adopted a dog he found on the streets of Bilbao. He named him Pello, after his teammate Pello Bilbao, and because his Pello was also from Bilbao. Away from racing and back at home with Pello, he would take his dog everywhere because his past life as a stray meant he didn’t like being left alone.
There isn’t much more to say, although cycling journalist Robyn Davidson made the nice suggestion that people could donate to the environmental cause Mäder himself supported – Justdiggit – in his memory.
We’ll end with a fun photo of Gino eating cheese and meat while taking a break from training, featuring an Instagram caption to make you feel hopeful.
Feed Zone ?
35-year-old Gianluca Brambilla crashed and broke his collarbone at the Tour de Suisse. Meanwhile Alexey Lutsenko was forced to abandon the race through illness that will interrupt his Tour de France preparation.
Bora-Hansgrohe have released their 2023 Tour de France kit celebrating their 10-year anniversary as a team. The jersey features the name of every rider who’s ever raced the Tour for the German squad.
Ag2r Citroën’s Geoffrey Bouchard will not ride the Tour following his crash at the Dauphiné, which resulted in him fracturing his scaphoid. Better news for his teammate Clément Berthet, who this week signed a two-year contract extension.
Mark Cavendish decided not to take part (as had been originally planned) in the Baloise Belgium Tour as the sprinter prepares for his final Tour de France participation.
Giulio Ciccone has extended his contract with Trek-Segafredo through to 2027, while Robert Gesink has signed a one-year extension with Jumbo-Visma and will retire at the end of 2024.
Cofidis have revealed five riders who will represent them at the Tour: Bryan Coquard, Guillaume Martin, Ion Izagirre, Alexis Renard and Axel Zingle.
Cycling on TV ?
Note: The Tour de Suisse is on GCN+ in the UK and much of the EU, but FloBikes has the rights for Australia, the US, and Canada. Listed start times are for GCN+; FloBikes’ start time may vary.
Saturday
Men’s Tour de Suisse, stage 7
GCN+ (08:35-11:15 ET/13:35-16:15 BST/22:35-01:15 AEST)
Women’s Tour de Suisse, stage 1
GCN+ (12:20-15:15 ET/17:20-20:15 BST/02:20-05:15 AEST)
Baloise Belgium Tour, stage 4
GCN+ (09:00-11:50 ET/14:00-16:50 BST/23:00-01:50 AEST)
Route d’Occitanie, stage 3
GCN+ (07:45-10:00 ET/12:45-15:00 BST/21:45-00:00 AEST)
ZLM Tour, Stage 3
GCN+ (07:00-09:30 ET/12:00-14:30 BST/21:00-23:30 AEST)
Mountain bike
Hero Series Dolomites, Selva Val Gardena
GCN+ (04:00-06:30 ET/09:00-11:30 BST/18:00-20:30 AEST)
UCI MTB World Cup – Leogang
Downhill: Elite Women’s Semi Final
GCN+ (04:30-05:15 ET/09:30-10:15 BST/18:30-19:15 AEST)
Downhill: Elite Men’s Semi Final
GCN+ (05:15-06:35 ET/10:15-11:35 BST/19:15-20:35 AEST)
Downhill: Elite Women’s Final
GCN+ (06:45-07:50 ET/11:45-12:50 BST/20:45-21:50 AEST)
Downhill: Elite Men’s Final
GCN+ (07:50-10:00 ET/12:50-15:00 BST/21:50-00:00 AEST)
Sunday
Men’s Tour de Suisse, stage 8
GCN+ (09:00-11:40 ET/14:00-16:40 BST/23:00-01:40 AEST)
Women’s Tour de Suisse, stage 2
GCN+ (04:30-07:00 ET/09:30-12:00 BST/18:30-21:00 AEST)
Baloise Belgium Tour, stage 5
GCN+ (09:00-11:50 ET/14:00-16:50 BST/23:00-01:50 AEST)
Route d’Occitanie, stage 4
GCN+ (07:45-10:00 ET/12:45-15:00 BST/21:45-00:00 AEST)
Tour of Slovenia, stage 5
GCN+ (07:00-09:30 ET/12:00-14:30 BST/21:00-23:30 AEST)
Mountain bike
UCI MTB World Cup – Leogang
Cross-country Olympic: U23 Women
GCN+ (02:25-03:55 ET/07:25-08:55 BST/16:25-17:55 AEST)
Cross-country Olympic: U23 Men
GCN+ (04:25-05:55 ET/09:25-10:55 BST/18:25-19:55 AEST)
Cross-country Olympic: Elite Women
GCN+ (06:30-08:45 ET/11:30-13:45 BST/20:30-22:45 AEST)
Cross-country Olympic: Elite Men
GCN+ (09:00-11:15 ET/14:00-16:15 BST/23:00-01:15 AEST)
Monday
Women’s Tour de Suisse, Stage 3
GCN+ (09:20-11:40 ET/14:20-16:40 BST/23:20-01:40 AEST)
See you next week, folks.
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