Muriel Furrer, 18, died on Friday just 20 hours after suffering a fall during the Women’s Junior World Cup. According to the local press, the Swiss cyclist fell on a descent, a dangerous left-hand bend due to rain, in a wooded area of the circuit, near the town of Küsnacht, and remained there, hidden in the undergrowth, under torrential rain. , while the race continued. Just one hour after the test ended with the victory of the Englishwoman Cat Ferguson ahead of the Navarrese Paula Ostiz Taco, a helicopter took her to the university hospital in Zurich in critical condition, with a serious head injury.
The death of Furrer, a native of Zurich and university student, shocks Swiss cycling just over a year after the death of Gino Mäder, a young Swiss rider who died after suffering a fall in the Tour of Switzerland.
The World Championships will end as planned in Zurich, where the rain continues to fall. On Friday morning, the International Cycling Union (UCI), Swiss Cycling and the local organizing committee agreed to continue with the World Championships. The women’s (Saturday) and men’s (Sunday) road races remain scheduled for the weekend. The cyclist’s family had expressed their desire that no test be suspended.
Furrer was considered a great promise in Swiss cycling. In June, she placed second in both the road event and the time trial at the Swiss Junior Championships. He also demonstrated his strengths in mountain biking and cyclocross. In May, he was part of the team that won the bronze medal in the team competition at the European Mountain Bike Championships, held in Romania. He lived in Egg, not far from Uster, the town from which the online tests start.
