RIP Gino Mäder (1997 - 2023)

[laarsland]

I gave the wife and kids an extra kiss before going on my ride last night, will be doing so for quite a while now. RIP Gino.

 

[Finn84]

there was an interview with a photographer in Belgian media yesterday, who said that he took photos of Mäder and Sheffield going over the top together, which probably contributed to the confusion.

As pointed out above, this is not possible, though. He must have confused him (or Sheffield) with someone else.

One of them with a team-mate of another?

 

[ZamlinusYoutubeious]

Terrible news. This sport can be so cruel

 

[Rob5091]

https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...t-the-emergency-services-and-lead-them-to-him
Swiss police are currently investigating the exact cause of Gino Mäder's fatal crash on stage five of the tour de Suisse, with Quinn Simmons potentially contributing. The young American was riding behind the Swiss cyclist at the time of Mäder's fall, he writes on Instagram.

View this content on Instagram

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View: https://www.instagram.com/p/CtmB0KlrcM0/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=2d4d680b-0afb-494f-80e1-c4ae067aec22

"I was riding behind Gino when he crashed so I stopped straight away to help direct emergency services to him. I’m devastated by his tragic death and all my thoughts remain with his family, loved ones and teammates."

Shame no further explaination on why Mäder crashed.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Shame no further explaination on why Mäder crashed.

Quite proper that he gave the detail of what he saw to the investigators, not the press/social media. All evidence can be collated professionally and presented as a proper conclusion after mature reflection and analysis rather than speculation being drip-fed.

 

[Eagle_Alps]

I remember him from stage 17, Vuelta '20.
So close to a first big win!

 

[Izzyeviel]

A pledge to regreen an area in honour of Gino Mäder - Justdiggit

We are moved by the support we have received following the tragic passing of Gino Mäder. To honour him ,we will regreen a dedicated area.

justdiggit.org

Well done to the 700 of you. & i'm sure there were thousands more who donated but couldn't find the option to dedicate their donation to Gino.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

To honour his friend and teammate, Pello Bilbao will be running his own Gino-esque campaign during the Tour to raise funds for a Basque reforestation project.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1674869902623006766

View: https://twitter.com/PelloBilbao1990/status/1674869902623006766

 

[Skijumper Roglic fan]

Still cannot believe Mäder has gone… Feels still unreal.

Crashed into a ravine, descending Albula, at speed 90 or so. It‘s so crazy, so unbelievable.

We still don’t know more about how it really happened.

I‘ve been thinking dozens of times about how you can lose your life, falling down THIS ravine. Only explanation, to me: he apparently really fell down this wall, at the bottom of the ravine. He must have fallen down this circa four meters high, vertical wall, at the bottom of the ravine. And he probably fell down the wall at its highest spot. So four meters of free fall, onto riverbed stones. Probably uncontrolled fall.

No broken neck, or something like that. Just serious injury to his head, although he wore his helmet.

Feels so unreal. He apparently had no chance to avoid this final free fall. Sheffield apparently did not fall down the wall at its highest spot. That probably enabled him to survive…

 

[RedheadDane]

"Gino Mäder" and "dead".
Those words... they don't belong in the same sentence. It just feels... wrong!

 

[Mayomaniac]

To honour his friend and teammate, Pello Bilbao will be running his own Gino-esque campaign during the Tour to raise funds for a Basque reforestation project.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1674869902623006766

View: https://twitter.com/PelloBilbao1990/status/1674869902623006766

I think the missing context is that Gino was a vegetarian who cared a lot about the enviorment and would often have interesting discussions about the subject with his teammates, at least that's what Caruso has said in an interview.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

I think the missing context is that Gino was a vegetarian who cared a lot about the enviorment and would often have interesting discussions about the subject with his teammates, at least that's what Caruso has said in an interview.

I didn't think it needed to be said, as I feel it's one of the main things we knew about him, plus it's also been widely reported after his passing as well.

He had even considered leaving the sport, because these topics were much more important to him than cycling. That fact made me a bit sadder, since he, perhaps unlike a lot of other riders at his age, already knew what his future could hold and therefore probably would have had an easier time adapting to a new life, if he had been forced to retire after the crash.

 

[search]

"I was riding behind Gino when he crashed so I stopped straight away to help direct emergency services to him. I’m devastated by his tragic death and all my thoughts remain with his family, loved ones and teammates."

Shame no further explaination on why Mäder crashed.

There was an article in Swiss press the other week, which I just saw. According to that, Clement Berthet was in that same group as well when they went over the top, but riding ahead of Mäder on the descent. He therefor didn't see the crash (and only heard it happening behind), but said that he didn't notice any obstacles on the road, nor were there any motos or cars getting in his way.

So by all likeliness, this was also the case when Mäder entered the corner.

Unfalltod von Gino Mäder: Versäumnisse der Ermittler

Die Kantonspolizei Graubünden untersucht den fatalen Sturz des Schweizer Radprofis. Ausgerechnet jenen Fahrer, der sich in unmittelbarer Nähe befand, hat sie bisher nicht befragt.

www.nzz.ch

 

[Devil's Elbow]

An interview with Sandra Mäder, Gino's mum, was published today (in German). As you'd expect, it's a heartbreaking read. A couple of quotes:

Believe me or not, I was nervous all day. I didn't even know why. And then someone else asked me if Gino would be taking part in the Tour de France. And I replied that you never know for sure. A fall - and everything can be over. That's what I said.

Cycling is also part of environmental protection. That was always an issue for us.

No one is to blame. Uphill, downhill – that's part of cycling. [...] I work in the field, I also live dangerously. I can adapt my driving style in the car, but I can't educate other people. [...] I think it was just his destiny to die that day.

 

[IndurainsTdF1994]

Timely post, thank you. We remember Gino winning the youth classification at La Vuelta '21. RIP Gino.

 

[RedheadDane]

Just read a Danish translation of that interview, or - probably more correctly - a Danish article about the interview.
One of the things that hit me (but nowhere near as hard as it hit Gino's family) was the way it described how the crash hadn't left any visible injuries, but that "something had broken inside"...

 

[Skijumper Roglic fan]

Timely post, thank you. We remember Gino winning the youth classification at La Vuelta '21. RIP Gino.

Yes, he was 5th overall, on final GC. I remember thinking, he‘s still young - one day, he could win the Vuelta. Everyone who finishes the Vuelta in 5th place overall, can also win the Vuelta.

He wore his helmet, for sure. No impact visible, except for a cut near his cheeks. He suffered an impact through his skull, to his brain, which caused him to die 18.5hrs later. To be honest, I cannot really imagine how that is possible, when he wore his helmet.

I would imagine the forces to his head must have been so strong that he probably nearly suffered a neck fracture. But he obviously didn’t suffer a neck fracture. Also no other fractures, as it seems.

Maybe he became unconscious during the way down. So the body gets relaxed, so fractures rarely occur.

Questions remain, how did he fall to die soon after, and what forces occured so that the helmet didn’t manage to save his life…

 

[SHAD0W93]

Yes, he was 5th overall, on final GC. I remember thinking, he‘s still young - one day, he could win the Vuelta. Everyone who finishes the Vuelta in 5th place overall, can also win the Vuelta.

He wore his helmet, for sure. No impact visible, except for a cut near his cheeks. He suffered an impact through his skull, to his brain, which caused him to die 18.5hrs later. To be honest, I cannot really imagine how that is possible, when he wore his helmet.

I would imagine the forces to his head must have been so strong that he probably nearly suffered a neck fracture. But he obviously didn’t suffer a neck fracture. Also no other fractures, as it seems.

Maybe he became unconscious during the way down. So the body gets relaxed, so fractures rarely occur.

Questions remain, how did he fall to die soon after, and what forces occured so that the helmet didn’t manage to save his life…

He went into cardiac arrest, it took awhile for CPR to be started and he was found face down in the water. It takes 6-10 seconds for an anoxic brain injury to occur and it can quickly turn into a traumatic brain injury when the blood stops circulating and once the brain is damaged there’s no coming back. Based off what RHD read in the article I wouldn’t be surprised if the TBI was worse then the staff and family hoped for and that the family pulled the plug after he had been stabilized and neurological tests were performed. Which if true it’s far better way for him to go on the families terms then keeping him on the machines.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Yes, he was 5th overall, on final GC. I remember thinking, he‘s still young - one day, he could win the Vuelta. Everyone who finishes the Vuelta in 5th place overall, can also win the Vuelta.

He wore his helmet, for sure. No impact visible, except for a cut near his cheeks. He suffered an impact through his skull, to his brain, which caused him to die 18.5hrs later. To be honest, I cannot really imagine how that is possible, when he wore his helmet.

I would imagine the forces to his head must have been so strong that he probably nearly suffered a neck fracture. But he obviously didn’t suffer a neck fracture. Also no other fractures, as it seems.

Maybe he became unconscious during the way down. So the body gets relaxed, so fractures rarely occur.

Questions remain, how did he fall to die soon after, and what forces occured so that the helmet didn’t manage to save his life…

What makes you believe a helmet can prevent a catastrophic brain injury? I mean it does help in certain circumstances for sure, but a helmet is not a cure-all and fix-all in a whole variety of sports.

I'm totally pro-helmet though, they do offer at least some kind of brain, or at least skull, protection.

 

[RedheadDane]

Questions remain, how did he fall to die soon after, and what forces occured so that the helmet didn’t manage to save his life…

Helmets can, and have, save a lot of lives. But, not all... sometimes, it just isn't enough.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Helmets can, and have, save a lot of lives. But, not all... sometimes, it just isn't enough.

I don’t think it’s fair to say the helmet didn’t save his life in this case, because it did. He was found face down in the water and unresponsive. Most likely the helmet saved his life but he was knocked unconscious in the water leading to the events that transpired because he couldn’t save himself and rescuers weren’t there in time. Without the helmet it would have been a brutal scene.

 

[RedheadDane]

Most likely the helmet saved his life but he was knocked unconscious in the water leading to the events that transpired because he couldn’t save himself and rescuers weren’t there in time.

But then it didn't save his life. Because, through some horrible twist of fate, he landed where he did... It might have meant he didn't die from the impact, but he still died.

 

[SHAD0W93]

But then it didn't save his life. Because, through some horrible twist of fate, he landed where he did... It might have meant he didn't die from the impact, but he still died.

That’s a very narrow way of looking at it. Just because he died due to a different cause doesn’t mean the helmet didn’t save his life from the crash. That is the point of a helmet, to save you from the crash and impact which it did. It isn’t the helmets fault he ended up facedown, unconscious but alive potentially at the time in the water. The helmet extended his life further, he just died due to other causes from the crash that are no fault of the helmet’s which did it’s job.


If I am in a car crash while wearing my seatbelt and airbags go off saving my life, in the process break my femur, and then die to a pulmonary embolism doesn’t mean the airbags and seatbelt didn’t save my life. I died due to the fat embolism that appeared from my broken femur making its way to my lungs.

If rescuers were on the scene immediately or within a min; the helmet would have saved his life from the fall and the rescuers either would have saved his life before the cardiac arrest occurred or been able to intervene sooner to stop any worsening anoxic brain injuries leading to what occurred in the hospital.

Instead we have were the helmet saved his life; he then most likely (based off my own critical care experience and knowledge with the news we have ) went into cardiac arrest because he was anoxic due to facedown in water, he wasn’t rescued for a few mins leading to a traumatic brain injury, CPR was performed and ROSC occurred, meaning he was brought back to life with his pulse and a tube down his throat to breath for him, and from there it’s hard to say what occurred in the hospital that night. He could have passed away due to neurogenic shock caused by spinal cord injury, cardiogenic shock due to the cardiac arrest, gone into cardiac arrest again and again before the provider, or family called it or the family could have removed him from life support after seeing the neurological test findings.

 

[RedheadDane]

If I am in a car crash while wearing my seatbelt and airbags go off saving my life, in the process break my femur, and then die to a pulmonary embolism doesn’t mean the airbags and seatbelt didn’t save my life. I died due to the fat embolism that appeared from my broken femur making its way to my lungs.

Then you would have died from some terrible twist of fate that your seatbelt and airbag couldn't have prevented. Just like Mäder died from some horrible twist of fate that his helmet couldn't have prevented.
That was my point. That sadly, tragically, circumstances occur that mean that a helmet just isn't enough.
His helmet didn't prevent him from ending face-down in the water.
His helmet didn't ensure that rescuers got there in time.
Because... that's not what helmets do.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Then you would have died from some terrible twist of fate that your seatbelt and airbag couldn't have prevented. Just like Mäder died from some horrible twist of fate that his helmet couldn't have prevented.

Would he have died on impact without the helmet?