Felix Gall rocks the Tour de Suisse - dramatic climb to the top!

Felix Gall rocks the Tour de Suisse - dramatic climb to the top!

Albula-Pass, Schweiz - The cycling sport was at this year's Tour de Suisse entirely a tragic message. The Swiss cycling professional Gino Mäder, who died in 2023 after a high-speed fall on the Albula Pass, was honored with a memorial. This includes a sculpture designed by his uncle, the sculptor Gügi Eugster. An earth wall was built at the scene of the accident to prevent future accidents.

While the thoughts of the "Tour de Suisse" participants were at Mäder, the young driver Felix Gall showed his strength on the royal stage. Gall took third place behind Oscar Onley and Joao Almeida and improved to seventh place in the overall ranking. He now has a gap of 2:20 minutes to the new leader Kevin Vauquelin from France. The stage led over 183.7 km, including demanding passages such as the Julier Pass and the San Bernardino Pass.

gall's fighting spirit

Despite persistent health complaints at the beginning of the stage, Gall found its form at the final increase and was able to increase the pace. His team took the command about 25 km before the mountain arrival. Felix Großschartner, an important helper from Almeida, also took ninth place.

gall not only rose in the race, but also had the goal of achieving a top 3 place in the overall ranking. The decision about the overall ranking is in the upcoming mountain time trial on Sunday. But the sporty atmosphere was also overshadowed by the mourning for girls. In the event of a memorial event before the start of the stage, some drivers, including Gall, spoke out for a demolition of the tour, as the last stage was in the sign of the death of meader.

difficult conditions

These emotional circumstances influenced the entire event after the planned stage had been changed after consultation with Mädel's family and the teams. This does not remain unnoticed: Gall, who had previously won a stage win and even the overall lead, lost six positions during the final time trial and landed in 91st place. The Dane of Mattias Skjelmosis, which defended the overall ranking, was able to triumph in time in the end.

With the memory of Gino Mäder and the sporting ambition of Felix Gall, the Tour de Suisse 2023 is a mixture of triumph and grief, which has touched the audience and participants alike. The coming days will show how the events will affect the participants in the meeting of the upcoming races.