Cycling is once again overshadowed by a death. Norwegian André Drege dies during the Tour of Austria. This also causes great consternation at the Tour.
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- The Norwegian André Drege died on Saturday during the Tour of Austria after a crash.
- The death caused great consternation in the cycling scene. "It's hard to come to terms with what happened. It's very sad to hear," says two-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar.
- In recent years, cycling has been repeatedly shaken by a death. Last year, Swiss rider Gino Mäder died during the Tour de Suisse.
For cycling star Tadej Pogacar it was "a shock", former champion Alexander Kristoff spoke of "very bad news" - and there was also great consternation in the Tour de France peloton. The news of the death of Norwegian professional cyclist André Drege during the Tour of Austria, which was taking place at the same time, brought the stars of the peloton back to reality after a Tour that had so far - pleasantly surprisingly - been accident-free.
"It's hard to come to terms with what happened. It's very sad to hear," said Pogacar, adding: "We have a cool job, but in most cases it's very dangerous. In the cycling world, we really have to look out for each other and take care of each other."
Drege dies on the descent from the Grossglockner
The tragic incident occurred on the queen stage of the Tour of Austria on Saturday. Drege, who rode for the Continental team Coop Repsol, fell in a breakaway group on the descent from the Grossglockner towards Heiligenblut and succumbed to his injuries.
The 25-year-old was found unconscious at the side of the road and resuscitated by road users. Resuscitation attempts were continued by a rescue helicopter team, but were unsuccessful, according to the police.
It is still unclear exactly how the devastating crash occurred. The Tour of Austria ended with a condolence ride. The memorial ride was the express wish of André's father, his team colleagues and the whole team.
Drege had already achieved some minor successes this year, such as overall victory in the Tour of Rhodes and the South Aegean Tour. At the Tour of Austria, he was in 38th place overall before his crash. "I knew him a bit, I was on the national team with him. He was a good guy," said his compatriot Kristoff, a four-time Tour stage winner: "He was close to a professional contract. That's really unbelievable. These things happen and unfortunately they seem to be happening more and more."
Many deaths in cycling
Once again, cycling has been shaken by a death. Just last year, Swiss rider Gino Mäder died on a descent during the Tour de Suisse. The deaths of the two Belgians Michael Goolaerts at the classic Paris-Roubaix (2018) and Bjorg Lambrecht at the Tour of Poland (2019) are also remembered. Or the two Italians Michele Scarponi (2017) and Davide Rebellin (2022), who both died in training after a road accident.
The safety debate in cycling is therefore in full swing. As recently as April, stars Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic suffered injuries, some of them serious, in a serious mass crash during the Tour of the Basque Country.
Races are getting faster and faster
The races are certainly getting faster and faster, with new speed records being set again this year on the Col du Galibier. "All the teams are investing an incredible amount in performance and aerodynamics. That also makes it more dangerous when the material gets faster and faster. There are approaches, but there is no silver bullet to make bike racing safer. At the moment, it's part of the deal," team boss Ralph Denk from the German Red Bull racing team recently told the German Press Agency.
However, there have been relatively few crashes at the Tour this year. The fact that it started with two difficult stages, which created large gaps in the overall classification, certainly helped. However, sprinter Pascal Ackermann, who finished fourth on Saturday, also cites the vast experience of the Tour pros as a reason. "At the Tour, you can see that the experienced riders don't push as hard as the young ones," said the Palatinate rider. According to Ackermann, the younger riders do not have the bike control that his generation had at that age.
In order to improve the safety of the riders, the Tour organizers also changed the crash rule from three to four or five kilometers on certain stages. The rule means that the times for the overall classification are taken at these kilometer limits. This makes the bunch sprints less hectic. Small improvements, but certainly not the big solution.
