The president of the UCI defends the decision to continue the Worlds after the death of Muriel Furrer: “Stopping is not the best way to pay tribute to her”
For David Lappartient, continuing these Worlds was the best solution, specifying all the same that “events cannot continue as if nothing had happened”.
Published on 09/28/2024 at 2:17 p.m.
David Lappartient, president of the International Cycling Union (UCI), was at a press conference this Saturday morning, the day after the death of Swiss cyclist Muriel Furrer, 18, during the World Cycling Championships in Zurich.
“Muriel Furrer’s accident affects us all,” Lappartient said. “We are thinking of his family, his friends, of Swiss Cycling, of the entire cycling community… These Worlds should have been a celebration and it has become a tragedy. We all feel bad. »
Asked about the possibility of not continuing with the World Championships, he explained: “We didn’t think that stopping the World Championships would be the best way to pay tribute to Muriel.” “After a meeting, we decided together that it would not be wise to interrupt the races. However, it is obvious that events cannot continue as if nothing had happened. » As a result, victory ceremonies were simplified, including a minute of silence and no national anthem for the winner.
Muriel Furrer, 18, tragically fell in a wooded area during the junior women’s road race on Thursday and died from serious head injuries in a Zurich hospital on Friday. “We don’t know exactly what happened,” continues Lappartient, who does not want to comment further on the situation due to the ongoing investigation. “It’s the job of the police and local authorities to establish that. I trust them and don’t want to draw conclusions. »
This death also reignited the debate on the ban on earpieces, which is in force for these world championships. The UCI wants to extend this measure to other competitions in the hope of generating more excitement. Although riders and teams emphasize the importance of the radio for safety reasons, Lappartient recalled that there have also been accidents linked to its use and that it was still too early to determine whether a radio would have allowed us to find Furrer more quickly. Swiss media reported that the helicopter that took Furrer to hospital did not take off until an hour after the race ended.
