Muriel Furrer: Bike owner killed at World Championships not discovered for 82 minutes


A bike owner who was killed in the course of the Street World Championships was not discovered for 82 minutes after a crash, investigators have discovered.

Switzerland’s Muriel Furrer, 18, died after crashing in the course of the junior street race in Zurich in her dwelling nation in 2024.

The investigation by the Zurich Public Prosecutors’ Workplace concluded there was “no proof of legal conduct or negligence on the a part of the organiser”.

Furrer left the street in moist circumstances, on a course near the place she grew up, and crashed right into a wooded space.

The incident was not seen by race marshals on the 73.5km (45.7 miles) route and he or she lay undiscovered for greater than an hour.

She was ultimately airlifted to hospital however died of a head damage.

The prosecutors’ workplace mentioned: “The accident occurred at roughly 11:04am, out of sight of help automobiles, race officers, spectators, and marshals.

“The injured bike owner lay hidden within the undergrowth and was not seen from the street.

“The sudden disappearance of [the] athlete was not robotically reported. Because of these circumstances, the injured bike owner was not found till 12:26pm.”

Neither dwell monitoring of riders nor radio had been allowed within the World Championships, regardless of being utilized in different races such because the Tour de France.

The race was overseen by an area organising committee along side world governing physique the UCI, which BBC Sport has contacted for remark.

The UCI launched GPS trackers for the 2025 World Championships in Rwanda, so the whereabouts of riders had been identified always.

It’s one thing the CPA – the cyclists’ union – believes ought to have been launched years in the past.

“It is such a straightforward resolution,” CPA president Adam Hansen advised BBC Sport in October.

The general public prosecutors mentioned: “Based on the investigation, the primary emergency responders arrived on the scene of the accident simply minutes after the bike owner was discovered and instantly started offering preliminary medical care.

“This was adopted by the rescue of the severely injured bike owner from the undergrowth and preparations for her transport to the hospital.

“No proof of any criminally related breaches of responsibility was discovered, both in reference to the time-consuming rescue operation or with the following medical care on the College Hospital Zurich.”

Final yr the UCI retired Furrer’s race quantity on the day, 84, from girls’s junior street races.

The findings come days after Britain’s Tom Pidcock crashed right into a ravine on a quick descent on the Volta a Catalunya in an incident not seen by cameras or organisers.

The Q36.5 rider mentioned he “was removed from the street and no one knew I used to be there” however was “fortunate” as a result of he may discuss on the radio to his crew.

He completed the stage however retired from the race the subsequent day.

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