The UCI and the local organising committee at the Road World Championships in Zurich have said they are unable to provide any information on the circumstances of Muriel Furrer’s fatal crash at the junior women’s road race due to an ongoing police investigation.
Furrer was airlifted by helicopter to Zurich University Hospital after sustaining a serious head injury in a crash during Thursday’s race. The Swiss rider, who raced at international level in road, cyclocross and mountain bike, died on Friday at the age of 18.
In a short press conference in Zurich’s Kongresshaus on Friday afternoon, UCI sport manager Peter Van den Abeele and Olivier Senn of the organising committee confirmed that the remaining World Championships races would go ahead this weekend at the request of the Furrer family.
Van den Abeele and Senn were unwilling to answer questions on the circumstances of Furrer’s crash and the timeliness with which she had received treatment for her injuries.
Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung has reported that Swiss Air-Rescue (REGA) had confirmed that its first helicopter mission in the Zurich area on Thursday had departed at 12:52 pm, more than an hour after the finish of the junior women’s road race.
“As Peter stated, there is an investigation going on by the public prosecutor and the police. We have no secure information for the time being, and therefore we can’t comment on this,” Senn said.
“There is no secure information, and that means everything that is out there is rumour. I would like to ask you to also respect the family. Please use wherever possible facts and not rumours.”
Reports in Swiss media have suggested the crash happened in the forestry above Küsnacht on the World Championships finishing circuit, though the UCI and the organising committee were unable to confirm the precise location.
“Not yet,” said Senn, who added that additional safety checks had taken place on that section of the course ahead of Friday’s under-23 men’s road race.
“We have obviously looked at the situation which happened there yesterday. We have slightly amended the staff on-site, especially because in the afternoon when it started raining again, not knowing if that had any impact on the accident.
“As always, we believe we do always the maximum on the safety and security of the riders. The downhill was looked at again just today with the rain on site.”
Asked if the timing chip in Furrer’s bike had been used to locate her after the crash, Van den Abeele said, “The investigation is still going on, but indeed the examination of the trackers will be used by the authorities.”
The under-23 men’s road race was already underway when Furrer’s death was announced on Friday afternoon. The podium ceremony afterwards took place without music or the playing of the national anthem, and Saturday’s UCI Gala has been cancelled, but Van den Abeele confirmed that the remainder of the racing programme, including the elite road races, would go ahead this weekend.
“The UCI is respecting the wishes of the family by continuing to hold the World Championships,” he said.
Furrer’s death is the second such tragedy in Swiss cycling in a little over a year, following Gino Mäder’s fatal crash on the 2023 Tour de Suisse. Senn is the director of the Tour de Suisse as well as the deputy general manager of the Zurich 2024 organising committee.
“Obviously, it’s another tragic death. It has a lot of similarities and similar feelings,” Senn said. “But today is not about Gino. Today is about Muriel, and my thoughts are with her family.”
