A year on from Gino Mäder's tragic death at the Tour de Suisse, race organisers have created a memorial ride and will award a special king of the mountains prize in his honour during this year's race.
The memorial rider will start at midday on June 16 ahead of the race's closing mountain time trial from the UCI World Cycling Centre in Aigle to Villars-sur-Olon. The ride will follow the route of stage 8, featuring 865 metres of elevation.
"Together, we remember Gino Mäder and ride the picturesque climb of the 8th stage of the Tour de Suisse," Tour de Suisse organisers announced.
"This special memorial ride brings us together to master a challenging route in community and sporting spirit."
The ride has a registration deadline of June 9 and costs CHF75, with a red Q36.5 Gino Mäder memorial jersey also included in the price.
The Tour de Suisse will support the #RideForGino foundation set up in Mäder's honour, with the hashtag appearing on all leaders' jerseys at the race.
The race number 44, which Mäder was wearing at last year's race, will also be excluded from the race in future, confirmed Tour de Suisse director Olivier Senn.
"We will no longer award Gino's number 44, which he was wearing when he crashed," Senn said in an interview with Gruppetto magazine, adding that the race will not hold a moment of silence for Mäder.
"Of course, that was an idea that came to us, too. But when talking to the family, it quickly became clear that they didn't want that. Of course, we respect that.
"We've been in close contact over the past 11 months, and it was clear that we wouldn't do anything that the family didn't want. So, we now want to bring the beautiful and positive sides of Gino Mäder to the fore."
This year's race will also honour Mäder's memory with a new mountain prize, similar to the Cima Coppi at the Giro d'Italia and the Souvenir Henri Desgrange at the Tour de France.
The prize, named the #RideForGino Mountain Prize, will be awarded to the first rider over the top of the race's highest point, the 2,421-metre high Nufenen Pass, on stage 6 of the race.
"One of Gino's great strengths was the high mountains," Senn told Blick.
"That's why we decided together with Gino's family to dedicate the highest point of the race to him. In this way, Gino will remain forever connected to the Tour de Suisse."
