Visma boss calls for safety panel

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The tragic death of 18-year-old Swiss rider Muriel Furrer at the 2024 road cycling world championships has reignited a fierce debate about safety protocols within the peloton.

Furrer’s crash — and the horrific evidence that she lay unnoticed in a forest for an undetermined amount of time after her fall — has put rider safety under the microscope.

Richard Plugge, the boss at Visma-Lease a Bike, criticized the UCI‘s policy of seeing the peloton compete without race radio communication during such races as the world championships and Olympic Games.

“At the world championships, we suddenly go back 20, 30 years. We race without earphones, and no one knows who is where,” Plugge said in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad.

“Everything goes back in time, while you would expect the world championships to be the example of innovation within our sport,” Plugge said. “However, the UCI continues to lag far behind in this regard.”

The UCI says its policy of racing without earpieces creates a more exciting and unpredictable dynamic, and is considering expanding the race radio ban to other races on the international calendar going into 2025.

Plugge and others insist race radios are an essential tool to assure rider safety.

“[With radios] you can inform people about dangerous points, because you can inform people when something has happened. Other riders can inform the team leader that someone has fallen. It is a form of communication and in emergency situations you always want to be able to communicate,” Plugge said. “You shouldn’t take that away.”

Junior races normally are contested without race radio, whereas top pro and U23 races — except at major international events — have used race radio since the 1990s.

‘Blick’ reports other riders near crash

Zürich police continue its investigation into Furrer’s death from head injuries in a spill during the junior women’s road race.

Earlier this week, police said that there were no known witnesses or video footage of the crash.

The Swiss daily Blick reported that it discovered two riders were near Furrer when she crashed on a sweeping left corner at Schmalzgrube near Küsnacht.

Swiss authorities confirm crash site of Muriel Furrer.

“The rider fell near Küsnacht, during a descent from the hamlet of Schmalzgrueb in a gentle left bend.”

Blick media believes the crash occurred at 11:03 and that Furrer was found after the race ended (12:33)

UCI pic.twitter.com/7IKHNUbO6M

— ProCycling Women (@ProcyclingWomen) October 1, 2024

The paper reported that one rider was ahead of Furrer, but that rider did not see the Swiss rider crash behind her. Another rider was on her left, but said that she was focusing on executing her turn and also did not directly witness the fall.

The report did not reveal the names or nationalities of those riders.

Investigating the time line

Police continue to work to determine the time line of the crash.

In its report Monday, police said it remains uncertain the exact time of Furrer’s crash and how long it took before her absence was noted.

Initial race results listed Furrer as a DNF, and the last-placed rider was more than 34 minutes behind winner Cat Ferguson.

It’s also unclear when the Swiss national team realized its rider was missing from the race, police stated.

Swiss media report that Furrer could have been left unattended for nearly one hour before medical staffers arrived.

A helicopter was soon dispatched for an air evacuation to a local hospital, where Furrer died the next day from her injuries.

Authorities are promising speedy resolution to the investigation.

Last year, it took six months to conclude a final report on the death of Gino Mäder at the 2023 Tour de Suisse.

Race organizers cooperating

Race organizers of the Zürich world championships said they’re fully cooperating with authorities in the investigation.

Furrer’s tragic death cast a pall over the otherwise successful event that saw record crowds and spectacular racing.

“We are cooperating with the prosecutor’s office, answering daily questions as they arise,” said Olivier Senn, head of the organizing committee, during a press conference.

This was the mission as documented by @flightradar24 . The Rega-Chopper landet 12:56 in Küsnacht near the place where Muriel Furrer crashed and flew her to the Zurich University hospital 13:32. (Keep in mind that an ambulance and other help arrived before that). pic.twitter.com/Ts0x4RczNU

— Gruppetto-Magazin (@GruppettoMag) September 30, 2024

Despite rain and cool temperatures, Senn said the UCI’s “extreme weather protocol” was not triggered during the junior women’s road race.

He also stated that feedback from riders and teams did not raise any alarm bells about the difficulty or dangers of the fast descent featured in the finishing circuit.

“If we made mistakes, we will take responsibility,” Senn said.

Plugge: ‘No compromises on safety’

In the interview with Het Nieuwsblad, Plugge said an independent body needs to be created to focus solely on rider safety.

“There should be no compromises on safety,” Plugge told the Belgian daily. “If something is deemed safer, it should be implemented immediately.”

In the wake of Mäder’s death, a new group called SafeR was created in 2023 to address safety questions and concerns, with members from team, riders, governing bodies, and race organizers.

Another rider — André Drege of Norway — died in a crash at the Tour of Austria in July.

The SafeR has forwarded several safety proposals, including better signage, warnings, and changes to finish-line time cuts as well as “yellow cards” for safety violations, but Plugge said those efforts are falling short.

“We tried that last year, but unfortunately the whole initiative was politicized, which resulted in compromises,” Plugge said. “You should never compromise on safety. So it became a toothless tiger.”

Plugge insisted that the best way forward is an independent body, similar to how anti-doping controls are mandated under WADA.

“The UCI doesn’t have the right expertise on safety, but they are the governing body, and they must show leadership by handing this to an independent party,” Plugge said. “Because otherwise they always want to keep a hand over the heads of the teams or the organizers or the riders.