Wouter Weylandt's sister talks about sad days in cycling world: "Something like that immediately grabs you by the throat"

The death of Gino Mäder will reverberate for a long time, in the peloton and beyond. Not least with Elke Weylandt and her family. Each serious race accident reminds Elke of the fatal fall of her brother Wouter at the 2011 Giro d'Italia.

"It has hit strongly. Just like 4 years ago with Bjorg Lambrecht in the Tour de Pologne. Something like that immediately grabs you by the throat. So these have been tough days," said Elke.

"In this case it may have come in just a little bit more, because Gino Mäder was 26 and therefore the same age as my brother. And also because the accident, just like Wouter, happened in a descent."

Tour de Suisse continued after consultation with Mäder's family. "The family has asked to organize a neutralized stage on Friday to hold a tribute. That was very nice and can be cathartic, not only for the family but also for the riders."

"There are always risks in cycling. The speeds are very high and the degree of protection is low. Due to advancing insight, much more is already being done than 20 or 10 years ago, but cycling is a sport on public roads and on that road you just can't make all 200 kilometers completely safe."

"But it is certainly possible to look at the structure of a race, for example, that a finish is a bit further from the last descent than is sometimes the case now. But you also have to nuance that, because descents are part of climbs."