Muriel Furrer of Switzerland crashed and tragically died at her home Worlds in 2024 and was not discovered for 82 minutes, an investigation has found (Photo: Sean Rowe)
An investigation into the death of Swiss junior Muriel Furrer, whose fatal crash off the course of the 2024 Worlds was not spotted by anyone, found she lay undiscovered for almost 1½ hours.
The inquiry into the 18-year-old's death was carried out by the Zurich Public Prosecutors' Office. In a key conclusion, it found there was "no evidence of criminal conduct or negligence" on the part of the organiser.
Furrer was selected to represent her country at her home worlds in Zürich in 2024, competing in both the junior women's TT and road race. However, during the road race she crashed off the course, sustaining fatal injuries.
Unusually, she was not seen crashing by anyone and her absence from the race went unnoticed until after the event had concluded. Conditions on the day were wet and she crashed off the road and into a wooded area.
Advertisement
She sustained head injuries and, after she was finally located, she was airlifted from the scene to hospital. Despite efforts to save her, Furrer’s death was soon confirmed. After consulting with her family, the organisers decided to continue with the remaining world title races.
The new report into the fatal accident said it happened at about 11:04am and was "out of sight of support vehicles, race officials, spectators, and marshals".
Related News
"The injured cyclist lay hidden in the undergrowth and was not visible from the road," the report added. "The sudden disappearance of (Furrer) was not automatically reported. Due to these circumstances, the injured cyclist was not discovered until 12:26pm."
Neither rider GPS tracking devices nor race radio were in use at the 2024 Worlds. However, trackers were introduced at the championships in Rwanda last year, 12 months after Furrer's death.
The report by the Swiss prosecutor's office said once the teenager was discovered on the day, the emergency services arrived very rapidly and began trying to save her. She was then taken from the wooded area and airlifted to hospital.
"No evidence of any criminally relevant breaches of duty was found, either in connection with the time-consuming rescue operation or with the subsequent medical care at the University Hospital Zurich," the investigation concluded.
Such incidents, involving riders crashing off a route - into wooded areas or ravines - unseen by spectators, officials, other riders or even picked up by the TV cameras are very rare.
However, Tom Pidcock (Pinarello Q36.5) crashed off the road and down into a ravine just last week during stage 5 of Volta Ciclista a Catalunya (2.UWT). He said after the stage he believed nobody saw the crash, on a late descent, and nobody knew he was there.
He was able to alert his team via race radio and, after being aided, got back on the bike and finished the stage. However, the incident was another reminder that unwitnessed accidents can happen, even at major pro races which draw big crowds and are heavily covered by the media.
Pidcock was unable to start the following day's stage after his knee swelled up and became painful overnight, due to suspected bone and ligament damage. He said that, after the 60kmph crash, he was lucky he was still able to communicate via the team's radio and seek help.
