Upper Austria tour cancelled
17-year-old bike talent dies after falling downhill
07/22/2023, 1:09 p.m
Cycling was once again shocked: a 17-year-old cyclist fell off a mountain during the Upper Austria Tour. The Italian talent is flown to hospital but succumbs to his injuries. Only five weeks earlier, the death of Swiss professional Gino Mäder had caused grief.
Just five weeks after the death of Swiss professional Gino Mäder, there was another fatal accident in cycling. After a fall on the second half-stage of the 48th Tour of Upper Austria for juniors on Friday, a young Italian driver succumbed to his injuries during the night. The organizers announced this on Facebook. The tour was cancelled. The Italian cycling association mourned the death of the 17-year-old and also gave his name: Jacopo Venzo.
“We are deeply shocked to announce that the young Italian athlete, who fell yesterday on the first stage, succumbed to his injuries despite all medical efforts,” the organizers wrote. “Our thoughts are with the family, carers and teammates.”
The 17-year-old Italian had a serious fall during the stage from Haid to Marchtrenk on the descent from Mistelbacher Berg. He was immediately given first aid by racing doctors and then flown by rescue helicopter to the Kepler University Hospital in Linz, it said. Because of the rescue measures, the stage was initially stopped and then canceled.
Only five weeks ago, the Swiss girl from the professional team Bahrain-Victorious died after an accident. The 26-year-old also fell on a descent at the Tour de Suisse and suffered serious injuries from which he died in hospital. The tragedy sent cycling into shock. The hashtag #rideforGino is written on his team’s bus during the Tour de France. Next to it is a heart.
Now, with another death, the collective wound of cycling has been torn wide open again, although people seem to be all too happy to go round in circles when it comes to safety. Ex-professional Tony Martin said around the end of June: “The way I see it, relatively little has happened. It feels like we’re still driving around with the same standard as when I started my career. I tried to achieve a lot, but relatively little or nothing happened,” said the 38-year-old, who ended his career in 2021.