The Zurich World Championships were marked by the death of Muriel Furrer in the women's junior road race and the time that it took for the Swiss rider to receive medical attention comes as a huge concern for the riders and is a reason for huge criticism. As the days pass, more details are known about the crash.
Without any known witnesses, no GPS transmitters and no race radio, Furrer's crash was completely missed by race staff. Swiss newspaper Blick has since that day been cautiously analysing and fitting the pieces of the puzzle together to understand what has happened; and report that the crash must've happened at around 11:03h; but Furrer's crash site was only found at 12:33h after the race had already ended. The helicopter transporting Furrer to the hospital in Zurich would take off from the site at 12:32, arriving only three minutes later to the hospital.
Blick identified two riders who were in the proximity of Furrer at the moment of the crash. CyclingUpToDate can assess that likely one of them is Hungary's Réka Tóth. But the direct fall into the wooded area or consequences of it were also not seen by those that the Swiss news outlet came in contact with:
"Due to the high speed and the bad weather conditions, she could never have seen the accident herself," the spokesperson for one of the riders said.
Our hearts are broken, we have no words It is with a heavy heart and infinite sadness that we have to say goodbye to Muriel Furrer today. We are losing a warm-hearted and wonderful young woman who always had a smile on her face. There is no understanding, only pain and sadness.
