"It's for Gino. It's Gino's mountain” - Torstein Traeen dedicates Tour de Suisse stage win to much-missed Gino Mader
Cycling
Bahrain - Victorious are riding with extra impetus at the 2024 Tour de Suisse as they look to honour former rider, the memory of the late Gino Mader, who tragically passed away at the 2023 edition of the race. On stage 4, the team took an emotional victory through Torstein Traeen.
"It's for Gino, it's Gino's mountain," admitted Traeen in his post-stage interview having held on for the win from the breakaway in a thrilling finale ahead of UAE Team Emirates' Adam Yates, who moved into the Maillot Jaune. Despite only joining Bahrain - Victorious after Mader's passing, Traeen clearly understands just how much this win will mean.
"We always want to ride for him. It still means a lot to me. Even though we weren't teammates, we were colleagues so I still miss him. This victory is therefore even more special for this team," explains the former Uno-X Mobility man. "It's great to win on a day when his mother is also there.”
This win also means a hell of a lot to Traeen personally. For those who don't know, the 28-year-old Norwegian was previously diagnosed with prostate cancer after a routine doping check. Thankfully, the cancer was beaten and now back in the peloton and back to his best, Traeen has secured the first win of his professional racing career.
“To be honest, I still can't believe I won," he concludes in disbelief. "Yesterday the doctor came into my hotel room and asked how I was doing. I said good, I just don't have good legs.”
Read also
2024 Tour de Suisse stage 4 results:
| 1 | TRÆEN Torstein | Bahrain Victorious | 60 | 04:10:21 |
| 2 | YATES Adam | UAE Team Emirates | 40 | + 23 |
| 3 | SKJELMOSE Mattias | Lidl-Trek | 30 | + 48 |
| 4 | ALMEIDA Joao | UAE Team Emirates | 25 | + 48 |
| 5 | BERNAL Egan | INEOS Grenadiers | 20 | + 01:00 |
| 6 | ONLEY Oscar | Team dsm-firmenich PostNL | 15 | + 01:27 |
| 7 | MAS Enric | Movistar Team | 10 | + 01:27 |
| 8 | GALL Felix | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | 8 | + 01:27 |
| 9 | UIJTDEBROEKS Cian | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 5 | + 01:27 |
| 10 | RICCITELLO Matthew | Israel-Premier Tech | 2 | + 01:27 |
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 2visitors 2
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Tis beyond your comprehension fine sir so best not to look on with blind eyes to THE GOATS greatness.
Brucegel09-11-2026 - McNulty winning was beneficial in ensuring the rainbow jersey would not remain winless
Front24209-11-2026 - Eccelente! That's 7 riders in total in Red Bull who come from the devo team, 8 if you include Lipo
Rafionain-Glas09-11-2026 - again, nothing is going to be resolved. it is a discussion board. I simply said I didn't see how MS impeded LBs sprint. the UCI doesn't care about my thoughts, and I am really not that emotionally invested in it.mij09-11-2026
- provoke change, lol. this is a discussion board. nothing is going to change by what I say here. just commenting that it didn't look like MS impeded Brand. beyond that not trying to go too deep.mij09-11-2026
- as excellent as maga rednecks chloe dygert (and quinn simmons)?Ketterechts09-11-2026
- so what i understand is: i left a comment calling out the endless author CVs for being an unnecessary flex of expertise, and you responded by lecturing me (and others) on discrimination and value systems. hats off to you. you definitely lost me!Ketterechts09-11-2026
- I just love the flood of Americans into the top ranks of world cycling. In addition to being studs on the bike, they all seem to be excellent emissaries for our country.Occam09-11-2026
- ANATOMY OF A G.O.A.T. EDDY MERCKX about TADEJ POGAČAR: Merckx: “He has revived a style of cycling that we had almost forgotten. He is now better than me.” Key statements by Merckx about Pogačar in 2026: - Acknowledging his superiority: This time, Merckx openly admitted, without any subsequent backtracking or reservations, that Pogačar had surpassed him and was now above him. This contrasts with 2024, when he quickly softened his remarks about Pogačar being faster. - The possibility of a historic triple (Giro, Tour and Vuelta): During the July Tour de France (where Pogi claimed his fifth title), Merckx stated that Pogi was the only cyclist in history capable of winning all three Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España) in a single season, provided the conditions were right and he had sufficient team support. - Lack of serious competition: Merckx emphasised that Pogačar has no real rivals in the mountains since 2024, thanks to his extraordinary climbing ability and the fact that he continues to improve despite still being under 28 (he turned 28 in autumn 2026). - Praise for his racing style: Merckx highlighted how Pogačar is bringing back the aggressive, uncompromising spirit of cycling's golden era, when races were not merely about calculated stages and tactical conservatism, but about attacking from long distances. PS: This is not "boring" ... this is called making real history, not only statistical history. Capish?PogiSloFans09-11-2026
- It’s off-season mate, I’m bored and fed up with the mediocrity of people unwilling to provoke change when they admit things aren’t right. What have you done lately to make anyone realise you won’t put up with things? What conversation, are you dictating to me which part of the incident I have to be interested in or telling me other parts are taboo? That’s what I guess the UCI would really like, let them moan, let it blow over for them pass on to the next thing, let’s keep the status quo, let’s try our best not reviewing or revealing anything about decision-making just like every time before, they’re used to it by now so we can take the risk they’ll never give us grief.Jumpyjohn09-11-2026
Loading
it's an incredible story. Torstein Traeen was diagnosed with testicular cancer almost exactly 2 years ago. he recovered, stronger than ever, signed to a World Tour team and today won Gotthard Pass. the last time they climbed it on a stage, it was won by Gino Mäder. so many tears.
Write a comment