'A disgrace': Controversy surrounding death of 18-year-old cyclist Muriel Furrer

The cycling world has had to say goodbye to Muriel Furrer at the 2024 World Championships in Zürich.

The Swiss cyclist has passed away aged just 18 following a crash at the Road and Para-cycling World Championships being held in Switzerland.

Per BBC Sport, Furrer was racing in the junior road race event when she crashed. She was rushed to a nearby hospital by helicopter.

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The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announced the incident with a statement reading, “The 18-year-old rider fell heavily [on] Thursday during the women’s junior road race, and suffered a serious head injury before being flown to hospital by helicopter in a very critical condition.”

The UCI considered postponing any further events, but Furrer’s family insisted they wanted racing to continue despite Muriel’s death.

Image: @murielfurrer Instagram

The UCI released a statement reading, “With the passing of Muriel Furrer, the international cycling community loses a rider with a bright future ahead of her.”

Image: @murielfurrer Instagram

The statement continued, with the organisation saying, “The UCI and the Organising Committee of the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships offer their sincere condolences to Muriel Furrer's family, friends and her Federation Swiss Cycling.”

Image: @murielfurrer Instagram

BBC Sport reports conditions were dangerous during the road race, with torrential rain falling through much of the competition. Whether that affected Furrer is unknown at this time.

Image: @murielfurrer Instagram

The UCI is investigating Furrer's death, but the exact details and circumstances are still unknown. In the meanwhile, there has been some criticism on the way the UCI responded to the incident, according to CyclingUpToDate.

Spanish rider Juan Ayuso did not hold back in Cadena SER's 'El Larguero': “It seems that the girl was left without treatment for an hour until the medical services arrived. I think it is a disgrace and it is something that should not happen.”

“I do not understand why in world championships we do not have communication via earpiece,” Ayuso continued. “Little that can be done can change a person's life. There are many questions.”

Furrer was seen as an up-and-coming talent in Swiss cycling, having won silvers in both the time trial and road race at this year’s national competition.

Image: @murielfurrer Instagram

Cycling has been dealing with a series of crashes in recent times, with fellow Swiss racer Gino Mader (pictured) dying following a crash at the 2023 Tour de Suisse. Mader was just 26.

Image: @murielfurrer Instagram

The UCI and other cycling organisations worked together last year to create the SafeR campaign to ensure safety during road racing events. A statement from the UCI at the time read, “The creation of SafeR is a direct response to the trend of increasing incidents occurring in men’s and women’s professional road cycling”.

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Image: @murielfurrer Instagram