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.”
| 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 |
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.
