On the opening stage of the Tour de Suisse Women on Saturday, many riders wore black armbands in memory of Gino Mäder (Bahrain Victorious), who died on June 16 from the injuries sustained in a terrible crash in the Tour de Suisse.
Swiss rider Marlen Reusser (SD Worx), who went on to win the stage 2 individual time trial and take the overall lead in the women's race, said that it's been difficult for many riders to focus on the racing.
"It is so shocking what happened," Reusser said. "It was hard to keep the focus on the sport in the last few days.
"Yesterday, in the road race, I was fully focussed on how we race, but also there, I was just a bit more careful in the descents,"
Anyone who has ever suffered a serious crash themselves knows that it is a – sometimes lengthy – process to gain confidence on the bike again afterwards, and it was the same for Reusser.
Reusser, a general physician who entered the sport in her late twenties, experienced serious injuries following a crash in 2017 where she broke her pelvic bone, sacrum and first vertebra (L5).
She also experienced a concussion following a crash at the 2022 Tour de France Femmes, and was forced to abandon the race.
"I had a bad crash in the past myself, and it always takes time to come back, have confidence for cornering and go 'full gas'," she said. "It's just something that is in my mind right now, and that doesn’t help. This sport is a little bit stupid even sometimes because it's also about taking a little bit of a risk."
Taking such risks in the time trial was not easy for Reusser, who said she held back a bit in the technical descent, knowing that this might cost her the victory.
"I was not in a good flow and didn’t go 100% through the dangerous corners, understanding that maybe I wouldn't win. I was okay with that," said Reusser of the final of stage 2.
She said that she had dreamt of the race and especially Sunday's time trial for a long time. However, the tragic death of Mäder has put all that into perspective.
"With what happened to Gino, my feelings towards this home race changed somewhat. I still think it's good that we ride here, and I think it is good that I can enjoy this leader's jersey on my shoulders," Reusser said.
Reusser, who captured SD Worx's 21st win in a row, is now leading the GC by eight seconds ahead of her teammate Demi Vollering with two stages to go and is now the top favourite to win the Tour de Suisse Women overall.
