The races will go on. That was the message from the UCI and the Zürich World Championships organising committee after a dark day in the Swiss city which saw the death of Swiss junior rider Muriel Furrer announced.
The 18-year-old died following a crash in the junior women’s road race on Thursday, in which she sustained a "serious head injury". The incident took place on the Zürich city circuit, which will be tackled by both elite road races this weekend.
Very little is known about the incident, and it is still under investigation by the authorities in Switzerland. However, extra staff have been added to the race route, with concerns over the heavy rain which has fallen in Zürich.
"It’s obviously a very sad day for everyone involved in this World Championships," Olivier Senn, the deputy manager of the local organising committee of the Zürich Worlds said at a press conference on Friday afternoon. "We cannot imagine how it must feel for the family and friends and former colleagues at Swiss cycling. We express our sincere condolences to family, friends, and everyone involved.
"We’ve lost a promising young athlete with a full life ahead of her, which is very hard to take," he continued. "We are all struggling to continue in this situation, but nevertheless we have to and we will keep going, supporting everyone that needs it as good as we can.
"We have amended the event programme. We will be flying the flags half-mast for the rest of the World Championships, we will have a reduced podium ceremony today. We have cancelled all evening activities for tonight and the UCI Gala tomorrow. There might be further decisions taken, and we are focusing on the bigger events tomorrow and Sunday."
"Racing will go on, as it was the wish of the family that this will happen," he stated.
There was nothing to add on the circumstances around the fatal crash, Senn said, with an investigation open by the public prosecutor and the police. Despite reports in the Swiss press on the nature of the accident and response, he said: "We have no secured information for the time being. Everything out there is rumours. Please use facts and not rumours." The location of the incident could not be confirmed.
Extra marshals have been added to the course. "We have looked at the situation which happened yesterday, we have slightly amended the staff on site, especially because in the afternoon when it started raining again, we didn't know if this impacted the accident," Senn explained. "We believe we always do the maximum for the safety and security of the riders. The downhill was looked at again today with the rain."
"My thoughts, our thoughts, the entire cycling family’s thoughts are with her family, her loved ones, her team-mates, and her friends at Swiss cycling," Peter Van Den Abeele, the UCI's sports director, said.
"With the passing of Muriel, the international cycling community has lost a rider with a bright future ahead of her. At present, the accident is still under investigation by the relevant competent authorities.
"The UCI and the organising committee are respecting the wish of the family to continue these World Championships. At this stage, we will not comment any further. Thank you for your understanding."
The Road World Championships continues with the women's elite road race on Saturday, before finishing with the men's elite road race on Sunday. There also para-cycling events on both Saturday and Sunday, as part of the Para-Cycling Road World Championships, with this the first event to combine the two.
