2023-06-17 17:50:52
It was a gesture filled with emotions. The day after the death of Gino Mäder, victim of a heavy fall during the fifth stage, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) won alone in Weinfelden, this Saturday, on the seventh stage of the Tour de Suisse. The world champion celebrated with a finger to the sky and a hand on his heart to pay tribute to the former Bahrain climber Victorious. Wout van Aert finished second in the sprint, ahead of Bryan Coquard.
As they had decided, the riders stayed together for a good part of the day’s route between Tübach and Weinfelden (183km) in tribute to the young Swiss rider, who died at the age of 26. The final explanation came when the reigning world champion took off at the head of the race with 17 km to go, before taking his 44th career victory, his seventh in 2023.
“We will have to digest all this because it is not easy”
Asked at the microphone of the L’Equipe channel after the race, the Frenchman Bryan Coquard delivered his state of mind after the death of Gino Mäder: “These last few days have been very complicated to manage. We are the same family even if we practice all year to have the best possible position. We don’t do that for such dramatic events. We raced the last 25 kilometers to honor him. We’re going to have to digest all that because it’s not easy. »
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